TWELVE    MONTHS 


ENGLISH    PEISON 


BY 

SUSAN  WILLIS   FLETCHER 


"  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye 
came  unto  me."  —  Matt.  xxy.  36. 


BOSTON 

LEE    AND    SHEPARD,    PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK 

CHARLES    T.    DILLINGHAM 

1884 


Copyright,  1SS3, 
By  LEE  AXI)  BHEPARD. 


All  right*  reserved. 


TO 

MY  DEAR  HUSBAND  AND  SON, 


DR.  AND  MRS.  T.  L.  NICHOLS 

OF  LONDON, 

whose  devotion  and  love  served  to  strengthen  me  during 
weary  months  of  persecution  and  suffering, 

This  Volume 

IS  AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED 
BY    THE    AUTHOR. 


PUBLISHEES1    NOTICE. 


The  reader  of  this  book,  whether  a  believer  in  Spirit- 
ualism, or  one  who  rejects  its  claims  as  delusive  and 
impossible,  will 'be  struck  by  the  clear  and  frank  confi- 
dence shown  in  the  narrative,  especially  of  the  circum- 
stances that  preceded  the  criminal  trial,  and  will  soon 
find  his  feelings  drawn  into  sympathy  with  the  tender, 
faithful,  and  courageous  spirit  of  the  writer.  The 
heart  of  the  book  is  the  heart  of  a  noble  woman. 

After  a  consideration  of  the  whole  case,  there  can- 
not remain  a  doubt  of  her  innocence  of  the  crime  for 
which  she  suffered ;  and  it  must  be  a  continual  re- 
proach to  the  jurisprudence  of  the  foremost  among 
nations  that  such  an  injustice  could  be  done  under  the 
forms  of  law. 

A  strong  cry  has  been  heard  of  late  from  the  wretched 
precincts  of  "outcast  London  ;  "  and  it  is  deplorable  to 
see  in  the  account  of  the  women's  prison,  as  here 
given,  how  most  of  the  victims  of  the  law  as  now 


iv  PUBLISHERS'   NOTICE. 

administered  are  educated  for  evil,  and  are  graduated 
as  criminals  for  life.  Ji"  the  wise  and  humane  sugges- 
tions of  the  author  should  aid  in  bringing  about  a 
change  in  discipline  for  the  restoration  of  fallen  women, 
her  unmerited  imprisonment  will  not  have  been  without 
recompeni 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
My  Story 

CHAPTER  II. 
Some  veky  Childish  Manifestations        ...      10 

CHAPTER  III. 
Further  Development,  and  an  Early  Marriage  .      14 


My  Dedication 


CHAPTER  IV. 

.      IS 


CHAPTER  V. 
A  Divorce.  —  An  Engagement.—  A  Marriage        .      23 

CHAPTER   VI. 

20 
Our  Future  revealed 

CHAPTER  VII. 
A  New  Home  and  New  Manifestations  ...      32 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Remarkable  Tests  and  Special  Providences        .      40 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Page 
Mr.  Fletcher  visits  Egypt  and  Palestine,  and 

ave  settle  in  London 50 

CHAPTER  X. 

22  Gordon  Street,  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies     .        .      56 

CHAPTER  XL 
Tue  Story  of  the  Jewels  and  the  Deed  of  Gift,      04 

CHAPTER  XII. 
How  She  came  to  live  with  Us,  and  went  to  Tours,      77 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
We  get  more,  not  to  say  better,  acquainted      .      85 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
on:  Excursion  to  America 92 

CHAPTER  XV. 
\i -:w  York,  Boston,  Camp-Meeting,  Dr.  Mack,  and 

SlGNOR  RONDI 95 

CHAPTER   XVI. 
What  happened  at'tiie  Camp-Meeting    ...      99 

CHAPTEB   XVII. 
My  First  Night  in  Prison,  and  what  came  of  it,    110 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
From  Boston  to  Bow  Street,  London       .        .        .    132 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Page 
Before  Mb.  Flowers  at  Bow  Street        .        .        .    139 

CHAPTER   XX. 

I     AM     ADMITTED     TO     BAIL,     AND     THE     GOVERNMENT 

PROSECUTES 147 

CHAPTER   XXI. 
A  Cross-Ex amination 150 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Cross-Examination  continued 165 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Influence  of  the  Press 170 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Forty  Yards  of  Indictment         .        .        .        .        .174 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  Old  Bailey ITS 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 
The  Opening  of  the  Case 184 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
The  Testimony  and  Cross-Examination  .        .        .104 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Speeches  of  Counsel,  Witnesses  to  Character, 

and  a  Fatal  Surrender 224 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Page 
Sir  Henry  Hawkins's  Charge  to  the  Jury,  Ver- 
dict, and  Sentence 237 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
Some  Comments  on  the  Case 243 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
In  the  Pillory 254 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 
The  Other  Side 267 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 
Some  Comments  on  the  Case 300 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 
Her  Majesty's  Prison,  Westminster         .        .        .    318 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 
Prisoners  and  Prison-Life 333 

CHAPTER   XXXVI. 
Spirits  in  Prison 339 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 
An  Insane  Prisoner 350 

CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 
A  Visit  to  my  Husband ,355 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Page 

Flowers  brought  to  my  Cell.  —  A  Lock  of  Hair 

and  a  Letter 303 

CHAPTER   XL. 

Instantaneous  Transmission  of  Letters  between 
London  and  Calcutta.  —  Manifestations  of 
Spirit-Power .    371 

CHAPTER  XLT. 
Further  Experiences 3S1 

CHAPTER  XLIL 
Release  of  a  Prisoner.  —  Celebrating  a  Birth- 
day        3S7 

CHAPTER   XLIIL 
Memorials  and  Petitions  to  the  Home  Secretary,    395 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 
A  Plea  for  Prison-Reform 403 

CHAPTER  XLV. 
Freedom 407 

CHAPTER   XLVL 

At    Liberty   in    London.  —  A  Farewell    Seance, 

and  a  Farewell  to  England      .        .        .     .  .    412 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I. 

Page 

Report  of  the  Cross-Examination  of  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  before  the  Bow-Street  Magistrate, 
Mr.  Flowers,  with  the  Suggestions  of  Coun- 
sel, etc ' 425 

# 

APPENDIX  II. 
Letter  of  Dr.  T.  L.  Nichols  to  the   "  Banner  of 

Light*' 432 

APPENDIX  III. 

PtEPORT  OF  THE    OPENING    SPEECH    OF    Mr.    MONTAGU 

Williams  for  the  Prosecution    ....    437 

APPENDIX  IV. 
Charge  to  the  Jury  by  Justice  Hawkins       .        .    445 

APPENDIX  V. 

What  Prisons  are,  and  what  they  might  be       .    458 

APPENDIX  VI. 
Memorial  of  Dr.  Nichols  to  the  Home  Secreta- 
ry, asking  for  the  Release  of  Mrs.  Fletcher  .    4T1 


TWELVE    MONTHS    IN    AN 
ENGLISH    PEISON. 


TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  AN  ENGLISH 
PRISON. 


CHAPTER    I. 

MY    STORY. 


In  the  summer  of  1880,  while  visiting  my  mother 
in  the  United  States,  I  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of 
obtaining  jewels  and  clothing  of  great  value,  by  undue 
influence  or  false  pretences,  from  a  lady  known  as  Mrs. 
Juliet  Anne  Theodora  Heurtley  Rickard  Hart-Davies. 
After  having  been  kept  one  night  in  prison,  I  was 
released  on  bail,  and,  on  the  hearing  of  the  case, 
honorably  discharged. 

Learning  that  the  same  charge  had  been  made  against 
me  in  England,  and  a  warrant  sworn  out  for  my  arrest, 
I  left  America  just  before  Christmas,  and  came  to 
England  to  meet  my  accusers.  I  came  alone  ;  because 
my  husband  was  suffering  from  lung  and  heart  dis- 
ease, and  his  physician  would  not  consent  to  his 
making  the  voyage  in  mid-winter.     As  I  expected,  I 

l 


2  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

was  arrested  before  leaving  the  steamer,  arraigned  at 
Bow  Street,  and  was  in  due  time  tried  at  the  Central 
Criminal  Court,  Old  Bailey,  found  guilty,  and  sen- 
tenced to  twelve  months'  imprisonment. 

All  this  time  my  oivn  story  of  the  matters  connected 
with  my  accusation,  trial,  and  imprisonment,  has  not 
been  told.  Condemned  without  a  hearing,  undefended 
at  my  trial,  my  witnesses  uncalled,  and,  by  the  crimi- 
nal procedure  then  in  force,  not  allowed  to  tell  my 
own  story  to  the  jury,  I  now,  in  the  first  hours  of  my 
freedom,  after  undergoing  the  full  sentence  of  the  law, 
desire  to  tell  the  whole  story  of  my  life  to  all  whose 
love  of  truth  and  justice  may  make  them  willing  to 
read  it. 

Because  the  right  of  every  person  accused  of  crime 
to  tell  his  or  her  own  story  to  the  jury  was  not  allowed 
to  me,  and  because  the  witnesses  who  would  have 
proved  my  innocence,  and  shown  the  perjuries  of  my 
accusers,  were  excluded  from  the  witness-box  by  being 
included  in  the  indictment  against  me,  or  were  not 
called  upon  to  testify,  I  was  condemned  unheard. 
Therefore  I  claim  the  right  to  tell  the  story  of  my 
life,  —  how  I  became  a  Spiritualist,  and  discovered 
myself  to  be  a  medium  ;  how  it  came  about  that  I 
was  accused  of  crime,  convicted,  and  punished. 

Let  me  begin  at  the  beginning.  I  was  born  in 
Lowell,  Mass.,  a  manufacturing  town  on   the  River 


MY   STORY.  3 

Merrimac,  "  the  Manchester  of  America,"  on  the  25th 
of  March,  1848. 

Alvah  H.  Webster,  my  father,  was  one  of  the  nu- 
merous New-England  family  of  Websters,  which  has 
produced  a  famous  lawyer  and  statesman  and  a  great 
lexicographer. 

My  parents  were  religious  people,  and  belonged  to 
the  denomination  of  Baptists,  which  is  one  of  the 
largest  of  the  numerous  sects  in  America,  where,  in 
the  absence  of  an  established  church,  there  are  no 
nonconformists  or  dissenters. 

My  mother  was  gifted  with  the  "  second  sight,"  or 
clairvoyance,  which  is  a  not  very  unfrequent  accom- 
paniment of  deep  religious  feeliug.  When  her  first 
child,  who  died  two  years  before  I  was  born,  was  lying 
ill,  she  saw  three  angels  appear,  one  after  the  other, 
floating  around  its  crib.  As  the  last  one  disappeared, 
the  child  held  up  one  of  its  little  feet,  and  said,  "  Kiss 
it,  mamma,"  and  immediately  passed  away. 

I  was  born  in  the  same  year  that  saw  the  advent  of 
modern  Spiritualism.  Of  two  brothers  born  after  me, 
one  died  ;  and  I  have  a  sister,  younger  than  myself, 
still  living. 

About  the  3-ear  1850  my  father,  leaving  his  family 
in  Lowell,  went  with  his  brother  to  seek  their  fortunes 
in  the  gold-fields  of  California,  and  there  remained  for 
several  3-ears.     In  travelling  from  one  miner's  camp  to 


4  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

another,  my  uncle  was  overwhelmed  by  a  sudden  snow- 
storm, during  which  he  perished,  and  was  buried  six- 
teen feet  deep  in  the  snow.  For  six  weeks  my  father 
vainly  sought  to  find  him  or  his  dead  body.  One  day, 
snow-blind,  and  groping  about  to  find  his  way,  he  fell ; 
and  when  rescued  he  was  found  close  by  the  frozen 
body  of  his  brother. 

Returning  to  Lowell,  my  father  bought  a  small  place 
in  the  country,  where  we  lived  peacefully  for  several 
years,  and  I  grew  strong  in  childish  pla3*s  and  the 
innocent  enjoyments  of  a  country  life.  I  remember 
that  I  was  so  fond  of  dolls  as  to  make  them  of  pota- 
toes by  the  dozen,  all  dressed  and  named;  while  my 
cruel  uncle  John,  in  his  boyish  contempt  for  such  play- 
things, cut  their  throats,  and  hung  them  on  the  clothes- 
line. After  this  horrible  murder,  John  went  off  to  his 
Sunday  school,  while  I  was  in  a  great  passion  of  grief 
and  anger.  On  his  return  he  found  me  crying,  and 
became  very  penitent.  To  console  me  he  proposed  a 
funeral  service  for  the  twelve  dead  dolls.  They  were 
all  laid  out  for  burial ;  and  we  were  to  have  singing, 
Bible-reading,  praying,  and  "preaching.  But  John, 
though  very  penitent  for  his  crime,  wanted  to  do  more 
than  his  share  of  both  praying  and- preaching.  I  told 
him  to  hurry  up,  and  we  sang  a  hymn.  As  I  began 
my  sermon,  I  seemed  to  be  in  the  open  fields  among 
the  flowers,  and  the  air  was  full  of  angels.     Mamma 


MY   STORY.  5 

and  grandmamma,  who  were  listening  to  me,  called 
grandpapa,  who  brought  with  him  one  of  the  elders, 
who  was  visiting  ns.  We  closed  our  services  with  the 
Doxology,  when  the  door  opened,  and  we  discovered 
our  audience. 

My  grandfather  came,  to  me.  "  Elder  Hinckley," 
he  said,  "  don't  you  think  she  was  born  to  preach?  " 
He  took  me  in  his  loving  arms,  and  with  tender  emo- 
tion said,  "The  Holy  Ghost  has  descended  upon  this 
house.     O  God,  make  her  strong  to  do  her  work  !  " 

From  that  day  he  always  encouraged  me,  and  I  had 
at  times  the  feeling  that  I  had  a  work  to  do.  When 
about  seven  years  old,  walking  alone  in  the  fields  one 
day,  I  climbed  upon  a  rock  for  my  pulpit,  and  began 
to  preach  ;  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  when  I  looked 
up  into  the  trees  I  saw  them  full  of  hands  applauding 
me. 

My  father's  adventure  in  California,  and  the  strange 
manner  of  his  finding  the  body  of  my  uncle  in  the 
snow,  led  to  his. conversion  to  a  belief  in  Spiritualism. 
The  manner  of  my  uncle's  death  was  known  only  to 
the  party  that  found  the  living  and  dead  so  near  to- 
gether. To  save  the  feelings  of  the  family  and  friends, 
my  father  had  kept  the  secret ;  and  it  was  generally 
supposed  that  he  had  died  of  some  ordinary  disease. 

Dr.  Kenney,  an  old  friend  of  papa's,  had  been  in 
California  at  the  same  time,  and  came  to  see  us  at  our 


G  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

country  homo.  He  asked  papa  if  he  had  heard  any 
thing  of  Spiritualism.  Father  said  he  thought  it  was 
perfectly  absurd,  and  had  no  belief  in  it. 

"  Well,"  said  Dr.  Kenney,  "  I  can't  agree  to  that; 
for  I  have  just  seen  a  lady  at  Lawrence  who  professes 
to  be  a  medium,  and  she  told  me  all  the  particulars  of 
your  poor  brother  Charles's  death.  I"  came  here  on 
purpose  to  talk  with  you  about  it." 

He  went  on  to  tell  some  of  the  things  he  had  heard 
from  the  medium,  until  father  said  he  would  go  and 
see  her.     So  they  drove  together  to  the  lady's  house. 

To  avoid  the  possibility  of  any  collusion,  he  asked 
to  see  the  medium  alone.  When  he  entered  the  room, 
she  began  to  shiver,  and  said,  "There  is  some  one 
belonging  to  you  who  was  either  drowned,  or  frozen 
to  death,  and  who  wishes  to  speak  with  you." 

Passing  suddenly  into  a  state  of  trance,  she  stretched 
out  her  hands  to  him,  saying  in  accents  of  delight, 
"  Why,  Alvah  dear,  how  glad  I  am  to  see  you!  I 
am  your  brother  Charles,  who  was  frozen  to  death," 
giving  the  date.  He  proceeded  to  give  my  father  the 
most  minute  details  of  the  whole  affair,  describing 
the  manner  in  which  his  body  had  been  found,  and 
told  him  that  the  spirits  had  made  him  temporarily 
blind,  so  that  they  could  lead  him  to  the  spot  where 
his  brother's  body  lay  buried  in  the  snow. 

"Don't   you   remember  what   a   dreadful   finger   I 


MY    STORY.  I 

had?"  The  medium  held  up  the  forefinger  of  her 
right  hand. 

My  father  remembered  that  his  brother  had  a  bad 
whitlow  on  the  third  finger,  which  he  had  often  dressed 
for  him.  At  the  instant  the  medium,  or  the  spirit 
through  the  medium,  said,  "  It  was  not  the  first,  but 
the  third  finger,  you  will  remember." 

After  giving  my  father  many  proofs  of  my  uncle's 
identity,  the  medium  was  controlled  by  one  of  her 
44  guides,"  who  told  him,  that,  if  he  wanted  proofs  of 
the  reality  of  spiritual  manifestation,  he  need  not  go 
to  mediums,  for  he  had  in  his  own  daughter  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  mediums  in  the  world.  He  had 
only  to  sit  with  his  wife  and  daughter  at  home  to  get 
communications  from  spirits  who  might  wish  to  come 
to  us.  The  spirit  gave  him  some  predictions  as  to 
my  future,  saying. that  I  should  become  a  wonderful 
medium  ;  that  I  should  travel  nearly  the  world  over, 
be  very  successful,  and  also  meet  with  dreadful  trials. 
"Something  will  happen  to  her,"  she  said,  "at  the 
age  of  thirty-three  ;  but  I  cannot  tell  its  significance, 
or  whether  it  portends  her  death.  But  I  see  her  raised 
upon  a  pedestal  in  front  of  a  man  with  silvery  hair, 
robed  in  scarlet  and  black,  with  a  great  assembly  of 
people.  I  see  two  men  —  one  with  a  gra}T  beard,  the 
other  younger  —  who  seem  to  support  her,  and  through 
whose  efforts  she  seems  to  be  raised  to  a  life  of  higher 
aims  and  nobler  uses." 


8  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

On  his  return  home,  my  father  told  every  thing  to 
mother,  who  was  strongly  prejudiced  against  Spiritual- 
ism, and  believed  that  it  was  all  either  rank  imposture 
or  the  work  of  the  Devil.  But  at  my  father's  earnest 
desire  she  consented  to  sit  with  him  at  the  table. 

I  was  also  invited,  but  refused  to  come  near  them. 
I  was  afraid.  At  length  my  father  placed  me  on  a 
little  couch  near  them.  They  sat  a  long  time,  but 
nothing  came  of  it,  and  mother  said,  — 

II  Well,  Alvah,  if  you  care  to  go  on  with  this  folly. 
I  don't."  And  she  got  up,  and  left  him.  I  also 
thought  it  was  nonsense,  and  said,  "Well,  papa,  if 
the  table  won't  move,  why  don't  you  try  my  rocking- 
chair?" 

He  took  the  suggestion  seriously,  and  said,  "Well, 
little  one,  we  will  try  it;"  and,  lifting  up  my  little 
chair,  he  placed  it  upon  the  table.  He  and  mamma 
put  their  hands  on  the  rockers,  and  I  jumped  up,  and 
put  mine  on  the  table.  The  little  chair  begafl  to  turn 
round,  so  that  they  got  up  from  their  seats  to  follow 
its  movements.  Mother  accused  father  of  causing  the 
movements.  She  thought  he  had  done  it.  Both  de- 
nied having  any  agency  in  the  matter. 

Father  then  asked  if  the  spirit  of  his  brother  was 
present,  and  wished  to  communicate.  He  was  an- 
swered by  a  shower  of  raps  made  by  the  rocker  of  the 
chair  on  the  table. 


MY   STORY.  9 

Father  solemnly  turned  to  my  mother,  and  said, 
"  Truly  we  are  in  the  presence  of  the  angels." 

I  said,  "O  dear  uncle  Charles,  I  am  so  sorry  you 
were  frozen  in  the  snow !  I  loved  you  so  much ! 
Won't  you  come  to  me  now?" 

As  I  spoke,  the  chair  turned  completely  round,  and 
leaned  over  to  me,  so  that  I  could  have  put  my  arm 
around  it. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  experience  of  my 
parents  in  Spiritualism,  and  I  may  now  proceed  to 
relate  some  of  my  own  early  experiences. 


CHAPTER   II. 

SOME   VERY    CHILDISH    MANIFESTATIONS. 

I  have  said  that  my  parents  were  Baptists ;  and  we, 
of  course,  attended  the  Baptist  church.  In  America 
all  chapels  are  churches :  in  earlier  times  they  were 
k>  meeting-houses."  There  was  a  baptistery  in  our 
church,  —  a  tank  of  water  under  the  pulpit,  —  in  which 
persons  who  had  kt  experienced  religion"  were  baptized 
by  immersion.  The  minister  and  candidate,  dressed 
in  baptismal  robes,  went  down  into  the  water.  This 
scene  greatl}'  impressed  me ;  and  when  the  minister 
raised  his  loosely  draped  arms,  as  he  came  up  from 
the  water,  and  said,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give  }Tou  rest,"  two 
beautiful  women  seemed  to  me  to  come  through  the 
window  opposite,  and  bend  over,  and  touch  his  hands, 
as  if  to  bless  him. 

Once,  after  seeing  this  appearance,  I  was  impressed 

to  go  to  his  robing-room,  and  tell  him  how  much  I 

loved  and  revered  him.     I  knocked  at  his  door,  and 

was  bidden  to  enter.     I  told  him  that  I  had  come  to 

10 


SOME   VERY  CHILDISH  MANIFESTATIONS.      11 

tell  him  how  I  loved  him  and  the  beautiful  ladies  who 
came  to  him  in  the  church. 

"  Ladies  !  "  he  said.     "  What  ladies?  " 

I  told  him  of  the  two  who  always  came  at  the  bap- 
tismal service,  describing  them,  and  telling  him  that 
one  was  dark  and  the  other  fair,  and  that  the  younger 
and  fairer  had  said,  "Remember  Ida,"  and  that  she 
had  placed  a  wreath  of  beautiful  orange-blossoms  on 
his  head,  and  said,  "  Separate  in  life,  united  in  death." 

I  shall  never  forget  his  troubled  look  and  tearful 
eyes,  as  he  said,  — 

"  Little  one,  this  is  witchery.  Have  your  parents 
ever  spoken  to  you  of  Spiritualism?  " 

"  Oh,  y£s  !  "  I  said.  "  And  we  sit  at  the  table  to- 
gether." 

"  My  child,"  he  said  earnestly,  "  never  do  so  again. 
It  may  be  true  that  spirits  come  to  you  ;  but  it  is  the 
Devil  who  comes  to  tempt  people,  and  get  possession 
of  their  souls.  Pray  to  God  to  forgive  you  ;  but,  if 
you  continue,  you  will  surely  go  to  hell." 

I  was  horrified  ;  but  I  asked,  "  What  is  hell?  " 

"It  is  a  dreadful  place,  where  people  are  burned 
for  ever  and  ever." 

I  went  out :  and,  feeling  that  I  had  been  a  great 
sinner,  I  wanted  to  punish  myself ;  so  I  took  off  my 
shoes  and  stockings,  and  walked  home  (two  miles) 
barefoot,  on  the  sharp  gravel.     Then,  to  get  an  idea 


12  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

of  the  dreadfulness  of  hell,  in  my  childishness  I  put  my 
finger  on  the  hot  stove-pipe,  first  high  up,  then  lower 
down,  until  it  was  burnt  to  a  blister,  and  I  almost 
fainted  with  the  pain. 

My  mother  came  in,  took  me  on  her  lap,  and  asked 
what  was  the  matter. 

I  said,  "  Dear  mamma,  if  I  were  a  dreadful  wicked 
girl,  and  you  were  God,  would  you  send  me  to  hell?  " 
She  said  she  would  not.  "  Then  I  will  never  love  God 
any  more,"  I  said  ;  "  f or  I  love  jtou  better  than  God." 

She  soon  got  from  me  the  whole  story  of  my  visit  to 
the  minister,  and  soothed  and  comforted  me. 

Years  afterward  the  minister  confessed  that  he  had 
been  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  young  lady  named 
"  Ida,"  who  died  a  few  weeks  before  the  day  appointed 
for  their  nuptials. 

It  was  not  uncommon  for  me  at  this  period  of  my 
life  to  see  the  spirits  of  beautiful  men,  women,  and 
children,  who  seemed  as  real  as  the  people  about  me, 
and  who  came  and  talked  to  me  and  my  mother, 
while  others  could  neither  see  nor  hear  them. 

Behind  our  house,  and  a  little  separated  from  it,  was 
a  coach-house  with  a  hayloft ;  and  it  was  my  delight 
to  clamber  up  into  this  huge  loft  of  fragrant  hay, 
and  lie  down  to  sleep  upon  it.  It  was  dimly  lighted 
by  a  lattice  ;  and  when  I  closed  my  eyes  I  saw  beauti- 
ful angels   come   through  the  lattice,  and  bend  over 


SOME   VERY   CHILDISH   MANIFESTATIONS.      13 

me  ;  and  then  I  felt  an  ecstatic  happiness,  and  a  sense 
of  inflation  or  extreme  lightness.  After  a  time  I 
seemed  to  float  up  and  up,  until  I  came  to  the  roof, 
when  the  roof  would  open,  and  I  seemed  to  see  throngs 
of  beautiful  angels  coming  to  me.  Some  of  them  talked 
with  me  ;  and  one  day  I  said  to  them,  "  Ma}7  I  bring 
you  some  flowers  the  next  time  I  am  made  so  happy?  " 

They  gave  me  leave  to  bring  them  ;  so  the  next  day, 
when  I  went  to  the  loft  for  my  little  siesta,  I  carried  a 
great  bunch  of  flowers,  which  I  cuddled  closely  in  my 
arms  before  shutting  my  eyes.  Very  soon  the  feeling 
of  happiness,  as  I  called  my  ecstasy,  came  over  me ; 
and  I  floated  up  and  up,  until  I  came  to  the  roof, 
which  seemed  to  open  as  before,  and  I  asked  the  angels 
to  take  the  flowers.  They  seemed  to  take  them,  but 
would  not  cany  them  away,  and  said,  "We  will  put 
them  where  you  can  see  them,  and  remember  us." 
And  then  they  placed  them  on  the  spikes  that  came 
through  the  roof,  and  could  not  be  reached  without  a 
high  ladder. 

When  I  awoke  from  my  sleep,  my  flowers  were  gone. 
Looking  up,  I  saw  them  hanging  on  the  spikes.  I  re- 
membered then,  that  "the  ladies,"  .as  I  called  them, 
had  said  that  they  would  carry,  the  spirits  of  the  flowers 
to  heaven,  but  would  leave  their  material  forms  where 
I  could  see  them. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FURTHER    DEVELOPMENT,    AND    AN    EARLY   MARRIAGE. 

Our  family  seances  were  kept  tip,  with  varied  mani- 
festations, until,  in  18G0,  when  I  was  in  my  twelfth 
year,  we  removed  to  Lawrence,  Mass.,  a  new  manu- 
facturing town,  and  rival  to  Lowell,  situated  farther 
down  the  River  Merrimac.  Here  my  father  engaged 
as  his  business  assistant  Mr.  William  M.  Willis,  a  son 
of  his  first  medium,  to  whom  I  was  afterward  married. 
It  became  known  at  Lawrence  that  I  was  a  medium, 
"  a  wonderful  medium,"  it  was  said  ;  but  all  mediums 
are  wonderful,  and  the  smallest  manifestation  of  spirit- 
power  is  a  marvel. 

I  had  a  great  repugnance  to  sitting  in  circle,  as  it 
is  called,  and  to  any  spiritual  manifestations,  except 
in  my  own  family  or  with  friends  :  but  we  were  soon 
importuned  for  sittings  ;  and  our  home  was  flooded 
with  eager  visitors,  for  whose  benefit  I  was  with  some 
difficulty  induced  to  sit. 

It  was  at  one  of  these  seances,  when  I  was  twelve 
years  old,  that  I  fell  into  a  deep  trance,  and  my  body 

14 


FURTHER   DEVELOPMENT.  15 

became  possessed  by,  or  came  under  the  control  of,  an 
Indian  spirit,  who  gave  such  tests  to  our  visitors,  that 
the  notoriety  I  got  became  a  great  torment  to  me  ;  for 
I  was  stared  at  in  the  streets  by  strangers,  and  pointed 
at  as  a  witch. 

I  became  a  writing  as  well  as  a  trance  medium ; 
that  is,  I  was  controlled  to  write  unconsciously,  or 
without  my  own  volition.  Even  my  school-exercises 
were  so  written,  to  my  own  great  relief,  and  somewhat 
to  the  wonderment  of  my  teachers. 

One  day  my  hand  wrote,  "Get  a  covered  slate." 
I  told  my  father  about  it ;  and  he  found  for  me  what 
is  called  a  book-slate,  in  which  I  could  conceal  my 
writing.  I  cannot  tell  whether  it  was  the  best  way. 
I  do  not  think  all  spirits  are  wise  :  I  only  record  the 
fact,  that  they  saved  me  from  the  labor  of  study,  did 
my  sums,  wrote  my  exercises,  and  that  I  got  many 
prizes,  and  stood  at  the  head  of  my  class.  This 
seems  to  me  unjust  to  those  who  worked  much  harder, 
but  perhaps  no  more  unjust  than  when  prizes  are 
given  to,  or  successes  are  gained  by,  those  who  are 
gifted  with  extraordinary  talents  or  genius. 

The  spirits  who  assisted,  and  at  times  controlled  me, 
wished  now  to  develop  my  mediumship  so  as  to  make 
it  of  the  greatest  use  in  carrying  out  what  seems  to  be 
their  great  object  or  mission,  which  they  declare  to  be 
the  conversion  of  the  world  to  a  knowledge  of  spirit 


16  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

existence,  of  the  great  fact  of  immortality.  When  I 
refused  to  sit  at  seances,  the  manifestations  went  on 
in  the  night.  These  were  often  very  unpleasant  to  me. 
We  were  living  in  a  country  which  had  been  once 
thickly  peopled  by  the  North- American  Indians.  Our 
beautiful  River  Merrimac,  and  my  native  State,  Massa- 
chusetts, had  Indian  names  ;  and  my  poor  little  body 
was  taken  possession  of,  greatly  against  my  will,  by 
fierce  Indian  warrior-chiefs. 

When  I  resisted,  my  bed  was  lifted  up,  and  violently 
shaken.  A  heavy  table  was  drawn  across  the  floor, 
the  clothes  violently  taken  from  my  bed,  and  I  lifted 
up,  and  seated  upon  the  table. 

These  manifestations,  which  may  have  been  exer- 
cises for  my  development  as  a  medium,  went  on  to  the 
period  of  my  marriage,  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  Mr. 
Willis  had  become  very  fond  of  me,  as,  truth  to  say, 
I  also  had  of  him.  My  parents  gave  their  consent  to 
our  engagement,  —  a  consent  not  always  asked  in 
America,  where  young  people,  often  at  an  earlier  age 
than  in  England,  are  accustomed  to  make  their  own 
matrimonial  arrangements. 

Of  marriage  and  all  that  belongs  to  it,  no  child  was 
ever  in  more  profound  ignorance.  My  first  child  was 
born  when  I  was  sixteen  years  old.  I  had  the  disci- 
pline of  terrible  suffering ;  and  I  had  to  wonder,  like 
many  others,  why  my  guardian  angels  did  not  protect 


FURTHER   DEVELOPMENT.  17 

me  against  what  may  have  been  necessary  for  my  prog- 
ress, and  a  preparation  for  the  work  I  had  been  chosen 
to  perform.  I  believe  it  was  "  for  the  best ;  "  but  I  do 
not  understand  why  it  has  been  necessary  for  me  to 
endure  so  much  suffering. 

This  reminds  me  of  a  fact  I  had  forgotten.  I  got 
poisoned  while  at  school ;  and  my  voluntary  nerves 
became  so  completely  paralyzed,  that  I  could  move  only 
my  little  fingers.  Medicine  had  no  effect  upon  me ; 
but  my  mother-in-law,  who  was  a  healing  medium,  mes- 
merized and  gradually  cured  me.  The  mesmerism,  or 
magnetism,  differed  from  the  usual  kind  in  this  :  being 
a  medium,  she  was  under  the  control  of  some  spirit ; 
and  it  was  the  controlling  spirit  who  really  magnetized 
and  cured  me.  The  cure  began  where  movement  often 
ends.  It  began  with  the  power  to  move  my  toes,  and 
in  a  short  time  I  had  the  control  of  the  entire  volun- 
tary system. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

MY    DEDICATION. 

During  the  first  year  of  my  marriage  all  my  mani- 
festations ceased,  and  I  believed  and  even  hoped  that 
they  had  ceased  forever.  But  at  the  age  of  fifteen  I 
became  acquainted  with  a  Mr.  Morell,  who  was  about 
sixty  years  old,  and  husband  of  the  first  trance  and 
inspirational  medium  in  the  city  where  I  resided,  — 
indeed,  the  first  medium  of  any  kind  I  had  ever  known. 
With  much  persuasion  he  induced  me  to  sit  with  him. 
I  was  reluctant ;  but  the  result  was  my  development  in 
a  similar  phase  of  mediumship,  which  soon  made  me 
known  to  a  larger  public,  and  engaged  me  in  a  broader 
work. 

A  Spiritualist  society  had  been  organized  in  Law- 
rence, as  in  almost  every  considerable  town  in  America. 
Some  called  it  a  Spiritualist  Church.  They  had  a  hall 
for  Sunday  meetings,  and  regular  exercises,  services, 
and  lectures.  Mr.  Morell  wished  me  to  speak  under 
spirit-influence  at  their  meetings.  Under  their  direc- 
tion I  was  placed  on  what  they  said  was  a  regimen 
18 


MY   DEDICATION.  19 

which  would  strengthen  me  for  my  work.  I  had  oat- 
meal and  cream  for  my  breakfast,  fish  and  vegeta- 
bles for  dinner,  and  brown-bread  and  milk  for  tea  or 
supper. 

After  a  fortnight  of  this  diet  I  was  to  attend  the 
Sunday  meeting.  On  Sunday  morning,  at  the  break- 
fast-table, I  fell  into  a  state  of  trance,  which  contin- 
ued through  the  day.  In  it,  and  while  unconscious  of 
all  that  was  about  me,  and  fasting  after  breakfast,  I 
was  taken  to  the  church,  and  gave  two  lectures,  which 
seemed  to  have  had  great  success.  I  had  no  conscious- 
ness, and  no  memory  of  them  or  of  any  thing  that 
had  occurred ;  and  the  secret  was  kept  from  me  until 
one  day  a  gentleman  congratulated  me  upon  my  per- 
formance. I  asked  him  what  he  meant ;  and  I  then 
found  out  that  I  had  been  speaking  —  with  great  power 
and  eloquence  it  was  said  —  on  the  subject  of  "Wo- 
man's Rights. "  I  was  deeply  disgusted;  because  I 
did  not  believe  in  woman's  rights,  nor  care  for  woman's 
wrongs,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  speak  in  public.  I 
said  it  was  all  the  work  of  the  Devil,  and  passionately 
declared  that  I  would  have  no  more  to  do  with  it. 

I  busied  myself  with  my  domestic  and  maternal 
duties,  and  in  my  eighteenth  3-ear  gave  birth  to  my 
second  child.  At  this  time  we  were  living  in  the  coun- 
try, at  some  distance  from  Lawrence.  I  had  no  mani- 
festations, and  hoped  and  prayed  that  my  mediumship 
might  never  come  back  to  me. 


20  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

One  night,  when  my  boy-baby  was  two  months  and 
six  days  old,  I  sat  with  him  in  my  lap,  and  a  flood  of 
moonlight  fell  across  me  and  my  babe.  As  I  sat  look- 
ing at  him,  he  seemed  to  turn  from  me,  and,  floating 
out  on  the  moonbeams,  vanished  from  my  sight.  Per- 
haps I  had  fallen  asleep.  I  must  have  moved  when 
startled  with  this  dream  or  vision.  My  baby  fell  from 
my  lap  upon  the  floor,  and  went  into  convulsions. 

This  was  on  Saturcla}'  night.  At  ten  o'clock  on 
Monday  the  nurse  thought  he  seemed  better.  I  took 
him  to  my  breast,  and  then  placed  him  in  his  crib,  and 
went  into  the  next  room,  singing  for  303*.  I  soon  went 
back,  and  fell  on  my  knees  to  thank  God  for  the  hope 
that  I  could  keep  my  darling. 

He  put  out  his  little  hand,  —  this  babe  of  two  months 
and  eight  dajTs, —  patted  my  cheek,  and  said,  "Mam- 
ma, mamma!"  and  with  one  little  gasp  was  dead. 
My  aunt  who  was  with  me  heard  him  as  well.  It  was 
not  my  fancy.  They  tried  to  take  me  from  the  room 
in  vain.  To  my  agonized  question,  "Is  my  baby 
dead?"  I  got  no  answer.  I  was  in  convulsions  all 
day,  and  seemed  nigh  to  death. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  December,  which  in  New 
England  is  very  cold ;  and  the  country,  as  usual  at  this 
season,  was  deep  in  snow.  They  buried  my  baby  in  a 
graveyard  two  miles  and  a  half  away.  I  did  not  know 
where  it  was  situated.     I  cannot  now  remember  that  I 


MY  DEDICATION.  21 

had  ever  seen  it.  For  weeks  I  was  ill.  Deep  snow 
bad  fallen  ;  and  my  one  idea  was,  that  my  baby  was 
under  the  snow,  and  that  to  keep  him  there  was  very 
wicked.  Unbeknown  to  any  one,  I  got  out  of  the 
house,  and  walked  through  the  snow,  two  miles  and  a 
half,  to  the  little  grave,  from  which  I  scraped  the 
snow,  and  found  a  little  pansy,  a  dear  little  heart's- 
ease,  blooming  as  if  angels  tended  it  under  the  snow. 
I  put  my  face  down,  and  talked  to  my  baby.  Then  I 
saw  above  me  a  cluster  of  little  clouds,  which  gradu- 
ally came  near  me,  and  then  opened,  and  I  saw  a 
beautiful  girl  holding  my^  baby  in  her  aims,  both  of 
them  radiant  and  happy. 

"  Do  you  want  him  back  again?  "  the  beautiful  girl 
asked  me. 

"  Oh,  yes,  yes  !  "  I  cried. 

"  Look  at  him,"  she  said,  and  laid  him  in  my  arms. 

I  looked ;  and  oh,  how  beautiful  he  was,  and  how 
happy ! 

"  Look  at  me,"  she  said.  "  Look  at  my  face,  so  as 
to  remember  who  I  am.  Tell  your  mother  that  Mary 
has  him,  and  that  we  shall  help  to  prepare  him  for 
what  he  has  to  do." 

My  selfish  feeling  was  conquered.  It  would  be  too 
cruel  to  ask  him  back;  and  I  said,  "You  may  keep 
him." 

"We  have  taken  him,"  she  said,  "to  save   him 


22  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

from  the  evils  that  would  have  come  to  him,  and  also 
to  save  your  life  for  our  best  work.  We  will  take  care 
of  him,  but  you  must  work  for  us." 

"  What  can  /  do  for  you?  " 

"  Resist  our  influences  no  longer.  It  was  this  resist- 
ance that  brought  you  those  horrible  manifestations. 
Have  no  more  doubts,  ask  no  more  questions.  Go 
out  into  the  world,  put  your  hands  in  ours,  and  do  as 
we  shall  direct  you." 

I  gave  her  back  my  baby,  put  my  hand  in  hers,  and 
promised  there,  kneeling  in  the  snow  by  the  grave  of 
my  child,  to  do  my  appointed  work.  This  was  my 
dedication  for  what  I  have  done,  or  may  do  or  suffer. 

She  took  my  baby  back  into  the  clouds  from  which 
she  had  come.     The  vision  ended. 

I  came  to  my  senses,  and  found  myself  very  cold 
and  wet,  and  wanted  to  get  home,  but  did  not  know 
the  way.  When  I  got  out  of  the  gate,  I  knew  not 
which  way  to  turn  ;  but  a  neighbor  of  ours,  who  was 
passing,  carried  me  home  in  his  sleigh,  after  which  I 
had  a  long  illness,  and  was  carried  to  my  mother  to 
be  better  nursed. 

From  this  time  I  never  more  resisted  the  influences 
which  controlled  my  mediumship.  I  gave  my  pledge  ; 
and  I  will,  God  helping  me,  keep  it  to  the  end. 


CHAPTER   V. 

A    DIVORCE. AN   ENGAGEMENT. A    MARRIAGE. 

In  1867,  when  I  was  nineteen  years  old,  my  health 
failed,  and  I  went  with  my  husband  to  live  in  Law- 
rence, so  as  to  be  near  my  mother.  With  the  loss  of 
health  I  seemed  to  lose  my  mediumship.  Not  succeed- 
ing according  to  his  wishes,  my  husband  decided  to  go 
to  the  newer  country  of  the  West ;  and  we  found  a 
home  at  Marseilles,  111.,  seventy  miles  west  of  Chicago. 
Here  there  fell  upon  me  a  calamity  which  comes  to 
so  many  women  that  it  cannot  be  called  a  strange  one. 
My  husband  got  into  habits  of  intoxication  ;  and  I 
had  for  nine  months  a  life  of  such  misery,  that  'my 
mother,  having  a  strong  impression  that  something 
was  wrong,  came  to  see  me,  and,  after  trying  vainly 
to  make  things  better,  advised  me  to  return  to  my 
father's  house,  which  I  a  fe^f  months  after  did.  My 
husband  followed  us.  Soon  promising  to  do  better*,  I 
tried  to  live  with  him  again.  Doubtless  he  tried  to 
reform.  He  fell  into  greater  evils  ;  and  I  suffered  from 
wrongs  I  do  not  wish  to  dwell  upon,  and  had  an  expe- 

23 


24  TWELVE   MONTHS   IX  PRISON. 

rience  which  made  me  sympathize  with  every  woman 
who  suffers.  After  an  illness  of  seventeen  weeks, 
caused  by  his  misconduct,  I  felt  compelled  to  sue  for  a 
divorce,  and  after  a  season  obtained  my  legal  emanci- 
pation. 

I  was  now  employed  for  some  years  in  giving  inspi- 
rational addresses,  speaking  under  spirit-influence  in 
most  of  the  towns  of  New  England  where  Spiritualist 
societies  had  been  established.  It  was  during  this 
period  that  I  first  saw  and  became  acquainted  with 
Mr.  John  William  Fletcher,  a  medium  and  trance- 
speaker  who  had  lectured  in  my  father's  hall.  I  was 
not  at  home  when  this  occurred ;  but  my  mother  was 
much  attracted  to  him,  and  became  warm  in  his  praise. 
I  was,  capriciously  perhaps,  prejudiced  against  him, 
and  even  refused  to  be  introduced  to  him,  but  out  of 
courtesy,  and  to  please  my  mother,  finally  consented. 
We  had  met  at  a  lecture  given  by  one  of  the  earliest 
and  best-known  of  American  advocates  of  Spiritualism. 

I  resisted  the  attraction  I  doubtless  felt  for  Mr. 
Fletcher,  from  a  sense  of  duty  also ;  for  I  was  at  this 
time  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  gentleman  of  New 
York,  and  could  .not  with  any  propriety  have  had 
much  to  say  to  my  mother's  favorite. 

We  met,  however,  a  little  later,  at  a  Spiritualist 
camp-meeting.  These  camp-meetings  are  held  every 
summer  in  many  parts  of  America,   in  imitation  of 


DIVORCE,   ENGAGEMENT,   MARRIAGE.  25 

the  Methodist  camrj-meetings,  a  century  older.  Some 
beautiful  grove  by  a  river,  lake,  or  the  sea  or  moun- 
tain side,  is  chosen ;  sheltering  temporary  buildings 
are  erected,  or  tents.  In  some  cases  there  are  even 
large  hotels  built  near  the  grounds  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  visitors.  Mediums  gather ;  seances  are  given 
in  the  tents ;  the  grove  resounds  with  singing ;  and 
there  are  lectures,  trance-addresses,  etc.,  at  the  ap- 
pointed hours. 

At  the  camp-meeting  I  attended,  and  in  the  services 
of  which  I  took  part,  Mr.  Fletcher  was  a  favorite 
medium  and  speaker.  We  renewed  our  acquaintance, 
and  in  conversation  wandered  into  a  quiet  and  secluded 
little  grotto,  where  he  became  controlled  by  his  spirit- 
guide,  "  Winona."  To  test  Mr.  Fletcher's  clairvoyance, 
I  left  off  my  engagement-ring. 

"  Winona  "  immediately  asked  me  why  I  had  taken 
it  off.  I  evaded  the  question  by  asking,  "  How  do 
3*011  know  that  I  have  an  engagement-ring?  " 

"Oh!  I  have  seen  it,"  said  "Winona,"  and  went 
on  to  describe  it.  "But,"  she  continued,  "  you  will 
never  have  any  use  for  it.  You  will  never  marry  that 
man." 

"  How  can  you  tell  that?    Do  you  know  him  ?  " 

"No,  I  don't  know  him;  but  I  can  find  him." 
And  in  a  few  moments  she  described  him  and  his 
house  in  New  York  with  perfect  accuracy.     "You'll 


26  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

never  marry  him,"  she  continued:  "you  will  break 
off  your  engagement." 

'*  For  what  reason,  '  Winona  '  ?  " 

"  He  will  try  to  compel  you  to  break  off  your  work 
for  Spiritualism.  You  will  not  consent.  You  will 
marry  a  medium." 

"  Can  you  describe  the  medium  I  am  to  marry?  " 

She  described  some  one  like  her  own  medium,  and 
said,  "You  will  marry  him.  In  five  years  you  will 
tell  me  that  my  prediction  was  true." 

My  expected  marriage,  which  from  a  worldly  point 
of  view  was  very  advantageous,  and  was  warmly 
approved  by  my  parents,  was  broken  off  precisely  on 
the  grounds  that  "Winona"  had  predicted.  Three 
weeks  before  the  day  appointed  for  our  marriage,  my 
affianced  opened  the  subject  in  a  letter.  He  wrote, 
"When  you  are  my  wife,  I  shall  expect  you  to  take 
your  proper  place  in  society.  Of  course  you  can  no 
longer  be  known  as  a  medium,  or  speak  in  public :  all 
that  I  must  strictly  prohibit.  Of  course  j'ou  can  see 
that  all  that  sort  of  thing  would  be  entirely  inconsistent 
with  your  position." 

I  had  to  make  my  choice.  I  sought  counsel  from 
my  parents,  who  said, — 

' '  Do  what  your  angels  tell  you  to  do,  my  child. 
They  have  never  advised  you  ill." 

That  night,  when  I  had  been  half  an  hour  in  bed, 


DIVORCE,   ENGAGEMENT,   MARRIAGE.  27 

thinking  of  my  'position,  and  trying  to  see  and  feel 
what  it  was  my  duty  to  do,  I  fell,  I  suppose,  into  a 
trance.  The  roof  of  the  house  seemed  to  open,  the 
clouds  came  down  to  me.  A  gentle  spirit  descended, 
and  brought  my  child.  He  lay,  a  little  baby,  on  the 
bed  beside  me.  He  put  his  little  hand  upon  my  face, 
and  patted  it,  as  he  had  done  by  the  snow-covered 
grave,  and  said  again,  "  Mamma,  mamma  !  "  as  when 
passing  away,  and  vanished  oui  of  sight. 

It  was  enough.  He  had  recalled  the  pledge  I  had 
given  to  the  angels  on  his  grave.  Next  day  I  wrote, 
returned  the  ring,  and  broke  off  the  engagement.  In 
a  year  and  a  half  I  was  married  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  with 
the  full  and  free  consent  both  of  his  parents  and  my 
own. 

^Ye  went  to  live  with  the  parents  of  my  husband. 
My  father-in-law  was  opposed  to  my  doing  any  more 
public  work  until  rested,  and  restored  to  my  usual 
health.  Now  that  his  son  was  married,  he  wanted 
us  to  live  with  him,  and  enjoy  the  property  and  suf- 
ficient income  of  which  my  husband,  as  only  child, 
would  be  the  heir.  My  mother-in-law  said,  "As  well 
as  3'ou  love  my  son,  so  will  I  love  you."  I  am  com- 
pelled to  say  that  the  very  reverse  of  this  has  been 
true.  There  seemed  to  come  a  strange,  jealous  hatred 
in  place  of  the  love  she  promised,  and  which  at  that 
time  she  may  possibly  have  felt. 


28  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

For  the  year  we  lived  with  my  husband's  parents  I 
was  the  child  of  my  father-in-law.  No  man  could  love 
his  own  daughter  more  than  he  seemed  to  love  me. 
But  a  sad  domestic  complication  marred  our  happi- 
ness. He  refused  to  give  up  the  society  of  one  whom 
he  had  known  for  years,  and  of  whom  his  wife  was 
furiously  jealous.     Husband  and  wife  separated. 

When  my  father-in-law,  whom  I  truly  loved,  took 
his  departure,  I  went  to  the  door  to  see  him  off,  and 
sa}T  good-by.  He  put  his  arms  round  me,  and  kissed 
me  tenderly.  I  shall  love  him  always  for  all  his  kind- 
ness to  me  then,  and  because  of  his  love  to  me  in  the 
long-ago. 

Three  months  after,  the  person  who  had  been  the 
cause  of  this  separation  died,  and  the  husband  and 
wife  were  reconciled  and  re-united.  But  my  mother- 
in-law  was  jealous  of  me,  as  if  the  jealousy,  for  which 
she  had  cause,  was  transferred  to  me.  She  told  her 
husband  terrible  stories  about  me.  I  believe  she 
became  the  victim  of  malicious,  lying  spirits,  who 
interfered,  and  kept  us  apart. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OUR    FUTURE    REVEALED. 

We  were  compelled  to  leave  this  discordant  home. 
The  treatment  I  received  was  insufferable.  The  rec- 
onciled husband  fell  naturally  completely  under  the  in- 
fluence of  his  wife,  and  could  not  protect  me  from  her 
malice.  When  we  went  from  their  home,  our  worldly 
means  were  five  dollars,  and  Mr.  Fletcher  was  disabled 
by  an  attack  of  sciatica. 

After  a  visit  to  a  lady  of  our  acquaintance  in  Low- 
ell, we  went  to  a  Spiritualist  camp-meeting  at  Silver 
Lake,  near  Plymouth,  Mass.  While  here,  being  under 
control  of  spirits,  we  were  told  to  go  to  Lake  Pleas- 
ant, another  camping-ground,  near  Greenfield,  about  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  north-west  of  Boston.  We 
both  gave  seances  there  with  such  success,  that,  after 
paying  our  expenses,  we  had  a  little  fund  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars. 

On  the  day  we  left  Mount  Pleasant,  there  came  to  us 
a  remarkable  vision.  An  Egyptian  spirit,  who  seemed 
venerable  and  wise,  laid  before  us  the  course  of  our 

29 


30  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

future  lives,  and  the  work  we  were  to  do  for  a  consid-. 
erable  period. 

He  said  we  were  to  go  to  Boston,  and  take  an  office 
together  as  test  mediums,  and  stay  there  for  some 
years  ;  then  I  was  to  cross  the  Atlantic,  and  engage 
in  a  similar  work  in  London,  and,  after  encountering 
some  difficulties,  return  to  America.  Mr.  Fletcher 
would  then  go  to  London,  and  I  would  follow  him. 
There  we  should  find  our  home.  We  would  meet  oppo- 
sition, but  would  overcome  it.  Mr.  Fletcher  would 
give  public  lectures,  first  in  a  small  hall,  and  then  in  a 
larger  one  in  a  more  fashionable  quarter.  At  first 
this  place  would  be  refused  to  him,  on  account  of  the 
prejudice  against  Spiritualism  ;  but  influences  would  be 
used  to  overcome  this  prejudice,  and  secure  the  place. 
There  would  be  a  great  success,  and  he  would  have  a 
public  testimonial. 

"  When  you  have  had  this  triumph,"  the  spirit  con- 
tinued, "  then  beware,  the  day  of  your  trial  will  be  at 
hand.  From  this  time  for  two  years  will  be  the  crisis 
of  your  life  ;  and  your  whole  future  will  depend  upon 
the  trust  you  place  in  us,  your  fidelity7  to  us,  and  your 
courage.  You  will  be  publicly  disgraced ;  you  will 
be  imprisoned  for  the  truth's  sake ;  but  do  not  falter. 
Remember  always  that  God  understands,  and  that  even 
in  this  world  your  rights  will  be  restored,  and  your 
characters  vindicated.     Take  this  for  your  motto  :  — 


OUR   FUTURE  REVEALED.  31 

"  To-day  —  alone  amid  ruins: 
To-morrow  — victory  and  the  people." 

You  will  suffer  for  the  truth  as  no  medium  has  suf- 
fered. You  will  return  to  America,  and  remain  for  a 
time  ;  but  you  will  then  go  back  to  England,  and  re- 
ceive a  triumph  to  which  the  first  was  but  a  shadow. 

This  vision,  now  in  so  large,  a  part  fulfilled,  came  to 
us  in  1873. 

Afterward  all  this  prophecy  of  our  future  was  given 
again  in  a  vision  which  both  of  us  saw,. in  which  the 
scenes  of  our  future  lives  passed  before  us  like  a  mov- 
ing panorama.  At  its  close  there  appeared  a  silver 
goblet,  and  over  it  were  the  words,  "Beware!  The 
day  of  your  trial  is  at  hand.'" 

After  the  triumphal  presentation  of  the  silver  goblet 
to  us  at  Steinway  Hall  in  1879,  when  we  had  retired 
from  the  brilliant  stage  and  applauding  assembly,  into 
the  artists'  room,  I  took  up  the  goblet,  and  the  whole 
vision  came  into  my  mind,  and  also  into  my  husband's. 
The  subject  of  his  last  lecture  at  Steinway  Hall  was, 
"  Beware  of  the  Foes  of  your  own  Household." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A   NEW   HOME   AND  NEW  MANIFESTATIONS. 

Leaving  Lake  Pleasant,  we  went  to  visit  my  par- 
ents, where  we  had  some  peaceful  rest ;  but  we  had 
our  orders  to  go  to  Boston.  We  held  a  seance  for 
more  specific  directions.  "Winona"  came,  and  told 
us  to  go  to  the  office  of  the  "Banner  of  Light,"  the 
American  Spiritualist  paper. 

We  went  to  the  office  in  Montgomery  Place,  and 
had  a  kind  and  hearty  welcome  from  Mr.  Rich,  the 
business  manager,  who  said  he  had  a  large  room  in 
his  building  which  could  easily  be  divided  into  three. 
Men  were  at  once  set  to  work,  and  we  were  soon  in 
possession  of  a  small  but  convenient  home. 

The  "Banner"  publishers  had  suffered  heavily, 
some  time  before  this,  from  a  fire ;  and  subscriptions 
were  made  by  Spiritualists  for  their  relief.  I  had 
done  what  I  could  to  promote  these,  and  had  some 
success,  w-hich  Mr.  Rich  had  not  failed  to  remember. 
But,  aside  from  this  small  claim  upon  his  good  offices, 
he  was  and  is,  and  I  hope  may  long  continue  to  be, 
32 


A   NEW   HOME  AND   NEW   MANIFESTATIONS.      33 

the  large-hearted,  liberal,  and  considerate  friend  of  all 
honest  and  worthy  mediums.  When  we  spoke  of 
business,  and  of  the  rent  we  were  to  pay,  he  said,  "If 
you  succeed,  you  can  pay:  if  not,  it  don't  matter." 
With  this  model  landlord  we  staid  a  year  and  a  half, 
and  quite  succeeded  in  paying  our  rent.  Partly  through 
his  recommendation,  no  doubt,  we  were  successful 
from  the  beginning.  I  have  never  in  my  life  been 
more  kindly  treated  than  by  Messrs,  Colby  and  Eich 
of  the  "Banner  of  Light ; "  and  I  am  glad  to  acknowl- 
edge our  success  was  very  largely  owing  to  their  kind- 
ness, which  has  continued  through  our  darkest  hours. 

About  this  time  I  experienced  a  new  development 
of  mediumship.  I  became  what  is  called  a  "flower 
medium."     It  came  in  this  way  :  — 

Major  II.  C.  Dane,  a  gentleman  well  known  in  Bos- 
ton, who  was  interested  in  Spiritualism,  and  thereby 
somewhat  in  us  as  mediums,  said  one  day  at  a  seance, 
"I  have  been  hearing  about  Mrs.  Thayer  (the  cele- 
brated flower  medium).  Do  spirits  ever  bring  flowers 
to  you  ?  " 

"  No  :  they  never  have." 

"  I  think  they  would,"  he  said,  "if  we  should  ask 
them.     Let  us  try." 

So  we  closed  the  doors  and  windows,  and  sat  round 
a  table  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  in  total  darkness. 
Soon  we  got  raps  upon  the  table,  then  views  on  the 


34  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

wall,  of  beautiful  forms  and  colors  changing  like  those 
in  a  kaleidoscope.  These  manifestations  continued 
for  perhaps  half  an  hour. 

We  were  then  told  to  join  our  hands  on  the  table, 
one  over  the  other,  so  as  to  form  a  pyramid,  or  sort  of 
living  voltaic  pile,  and  to  sing.  I  was  then  told  to 
make  a  mental  request,  which  I  did,  and  immediately 
felt  something  fall  upon  my  arm. 

u  Shall  we  strike  a  light?"  I  asked.  Three  raps 
answered,  "Yes." 

Major  Dane  lit  the  gas  ;  and  there  la}T  on  the  table 
the  loveliest  calla-lily  I  ever  saw,  with  a  stalk  eighteen 
inches  long,  and  two  great  leaves. 

Major  Dane  burst  into  tears,  and,  taking  a  memo- 
randum-book from  his  pocket,  opened  to  one  of  its 
pages,  and  gave  it  to  me  to  read.  It  was  a  communi- 
cation from  his  departed  wife.  It  said  in  substance, 
"  You  are  to  become  acquainted  with  a  medium  through 
whom  I  can  come  to  you,  and  I  will  some  time  bring 
you  a  lity." 

One  day  a  gentleman,  an  entire  stranger,  had  what 
he  considered  a  wonderful  seance  with  me.  He  did 
not  tell  me  what  had  come  to  him  ;  and  I,  as  usual,  was 
entirely  unconscious  of  what  the  spirits  might  have 
spoken  through  me  while  I  was  in  a  trance.  He  said 
only,  "If  what  has  been  told  me  proves  to  be  true, 
I  will  let  you  know  what  it  is."     Six  months  after,  a 


A   NEW   HOME  AND   NEW   MANIFESTATIONS.      35 

stranger  came  to  see  me.  At  least  I  did  not  recognize 
him  ;  but  my  spirit-control,  "  Dewdrop,"  did. 

When  I  came  ont  of  my  trance,  he  said,  "  Six  months 
ago  I  came  to  you  disguised,  so  that  no  one  should 
know  me."  And  then  he  mentioned  what  he  had  said. 
I  remembered  it. 

"I  was  in  Providence,"  he  continued,  "where  I 
heard  of  37ou,  and  came  to  Boston  to  see  you.  I  was 
interested  in  what  seemed  to  me  a  valuable  invention, 
but  I  did  not  wish  you  or  any  one  to  know  me  or 
my  business.  But  }-our  spirit  at  once  discovered  my 
name,  my  address,  and  my  business.  You  described 
my  invention,  told  me  how  to  perfect  it,  and  where  to 
take  it.  You  told  me  to  take  it  to  one  Col.  Cushman 
at  Chicago,  who,  you  said,  would  assist  me  to  bring  it 
out. 

"  This  was  direct  and  specific.  I  had  some  business 
which  made  it  convenient  for  me  to  go  to  Chicago, 
and  when  there  I  inquired  for  Col.  Cushman.  I  got 
acquainted  with  him.  He  helped  me  to  bring  out  my 
invention  ;  and  I  made  a  scientific  and  financial  success, 
for  which  I  am  largely  indebted  to  you  and  the  spirit 
who  came  to  me  through  you." 

Here  was  one  instance,  at  least,  of  some  use  in 
Spiritualism,  and  of  a  communication  having  some 
positive  and  tangible  value. 

On  taking  leave,  the  gentleman  thanked  me  warmly, 


36  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

and  put  in  my  hand  an  envelope,  which  he  said  con- 
tained his  address.  When  I  opened  it  after  his  de- 
parture, I  found  his  card,  and  with  it  a  bank-note  of 
a  hundred  dollars  (about  £20),  which  was  by  no 
means  unwelcome,  but  which  gave  me  much  less  pleas- 
ure than  his  account  .of  the  success  of  our  former 
seance.  When  we  sat  this  time,  "  Dewdrop  "  came  to 
us.  Her  first  words  to  him  were,  "  What  have  you  done 
with  that  wig  and  beard  f  " 

It  was,  I  think,  in  the  year  1873,  that  we  sat  one 
day  for  flowers.  It  was  in  the  same  room  ;  and  there 
were  present  Miss  Mattie  Houghton,  Major  Dane,  and 
myself.  We  were  sitting  round  a  table  in  a  faint 
light,  when  the  raps  came,  and  spelled  out  the  word 
41 1-i-g-h-t."  Turning  up  the  gas,  we  found  in  front 
of  each  person  a  beautiful  carnation-pink,  and  two  of 
them  in  the  centre  of  the  table. 

' '  For  whom  are  the  two  flowers  ?  "  we  asked. 

' '  Dewdrop ' '  said  they  were  all  given  to  her  and 
64  Winona,"  and  they  had  made  a  fair  distribution  of 
them. 

We  thanked  the  spirits,  and  put  all  the  pinks  in  a 
vase  of  water. 

In  another  room  in  the  same  building  was  Mrs. 
Maggie  Folsom,  a  test  medium.  Next  morning  she 
came  to  my  room  bringing  a  large  bouquet  of  carna- 
tion-pinks.    She  said  she  had  been  told  to  leave  them 


A   NEW    HOME    AND   NEW   MANIFESTATIONS.      o< 

in  an  obscure  place  in  her  room,  and  thought  they 
might  be  wanted  for  Mrs.  Thayer's  seance. 

"  See,"  she  said,  "  here  are  five  pinks  missing.  You 
see  the  places  from  which  they  have  been  taken.  Now 
I  am  going  to  Mrs.  Thayer's  to  see  if  I  can  find  them 

there." 

"  Maggie,  perhaps  you  will  not  need  to  go  so  far," 
I  said.  "  Come  and  see  the  pinks  we  had  brought  to 
us  last  night."  She  found  that  our  five  pinks  were 
exactly  like  hers,  and  fitted  the  vacant  places  ;  but  how 
they  came  from  her  locked  room  into  mine  is  a  question 
that  materialists  must  settle  for  themselves. 

On  a  visit  to  Lawrence,  I  called  on  Mrs.  Wise,  a  lady 
who  lived  at  Methuen,  and  was  telling  her  some  of  these 
experiences,  when  a  friend  of  hers  proposed  that  we 
should  sit  together,  and  see  if  any  thing  would  come  to 
us.  She  was  very  sceptical,  but  not  too  bigoted  to  seek 
to  know  the  truth.  So  we  darkened  the  room,  and  sat, 
another  lady  who  had  called  making  a  third  sitter. 

When  we  had  been  sitting  round  a  table  a  few  min- 
utes, signal-raps  came  to  tell  us  the  seance  was  over. 
We  opened  the  shutters  to  let  in  the  light,  and  found 
sixteen  white  daisies  lying  on  the  table,  as  if  some  one 
had  hastily  grasped  a  handful  in  the  fields. 

Raps  came  as  we  were  expressing  our  surprise,  and, 
when  we  asked  who  wished  to  talk  with  us,  they  spelled 
out  "D-e-w-d-r-o-p." 


38  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

"  For  whom  are  the  daisies,  '  Dewdrop  '  ? " 

u  A-n-y-b-o-d-y." 

1 '  Where  did  you  get  them  ? ' ' 

"  M-a-m-m-a  W-e-b-s-t-e-r's." 

On  going  home  I  found  my  dear  mother  in  great 
perturbation. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  mamma  dear?  "  I  asked. 

"  Oh !  my  beautiful  pots  of  daisies  on  the  veranda," 
she  said,  "that  I  have  watered  so  carefully.  Some 
ruffianly  little  wretch  has  stolen  nearly  all  of  them." 

"  That's  very  mean,"  I  said.  But  we  made  an  ex- 
amination, and  found  that  the  daisies  brought  to  us 
fitted  the  broken  stalks  in  m}r  mother's  plundered 
flower-pots. 

These  were  slight  things  compared  with  some  which 
came  to  my  knowledge.  Mrs.  Thayer  sitting  with 
Madame  Blavatsky  had  birds  brought  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Boston,  some  four  hundred  miles  distance. 
One  day  we  met  Mrs.  Thayer  when  we  were  out  walk- 
ing, and  arranged  to  have  a  seance  with  her  the  same 
evening.  My  mother  was  with  me,  and  the  table  at 
which  we  sat  was  covered  with  flowers.  I  think  there 
was  a  bushel  of  them  brought  into  our  closed  and 
darkened  room  ;  but  we  thought  it  very  strange  that 
there  were  none  for  mamma. 

"  Let  us  put  out  the  light  again,"  said  Mrs.  Thayer. 
"I  think  the  influence  is  not  exhausted."  We  put 
out  the  light,  and  in  a  moment  mamma  cried  out,  — 


A  NEW   HOME   AND   NEW   MANIFESTATIONS.      39 

kt0h!  there  is  something  so  cold  and  wet  in  my 
hand.     Why,  I  believe  it  is  my  bird !  " 

ki  It  is  not  your  bird,"  said  Mrs.  Thayer.  "  A  spirit 
who  says  her  name  is  Susie,  daughter  of  Dr.  Smith, 
has  brought  for  her  father  some  moss  and  a  pebble 
from  her  grave.  She  says,  l  Take  it  to  him  with  my 
love.  If  he  will  examine  my  grave,  he  will  see  whence 
the  moss  and  pebble  were  taken.'  " 

We  lighted  the  gas.  Close  to  one  of  mamma's  hands 
was  a  little  yellow  canary-bird,  and  in  the  other  a  piece 
of  wood-moss  and  a  pebble. 

Dr.  Smith  lived  with  us.  He  had  buried  a  beloved 
daughter  Susan  ;  and  her  grave  was  a  hundred  miles 
away,  in  the  State  of  Maine.  On  her  grave  he  had 
formed  a  large  letter  S.  with  pebbles,  and  filled  in 
the  interstices  with  moss.  He  was  so  impressed  with 
the  circumstances  of  the  seance,  and  the  message  to 
liim,  that  he  carried  pebble  and  moss  to  his  daughter's 
grave,  where  he  found  two  spaces  in  the  S.  which  the 
pebble  and  the  moss  he  carried  with  him  exactly  filled. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

REMARKABLE    TESTS    AND    SPECIAL    PROVIDENCES. 

All  this  time  my  husband  was  giving  seances,  as 
I  was  also.  He  was  sought  by  some,  I  by  others. 
His  control,  "  Winona,"  faithfully  served  or  used  him, 
as  "  Dewdrop  "  served  and  used  me;  and  both  were 
quite  sufficiently  employed  by  our  numerous  visitors. 

A  Mr.  Low  residing  at  Chelsea,  a  suburb  of  Bos- 
ton, came  pretty  regularly  to  Mr.  Fletcher  for  seances, 
and  was  anxious  to  get  materializations.  "  Winona  " 
told  him  what  to  do  as  a  preparation  for  such  mani- 
festations, —  as  to  the  purification  of  his  body  by 
bathing,  a  simple,  pure  diet,  and  the  avoidance  of  any 
hurtful  indulgences. 

"  Go  where  you  please  for  materializations,"  said 
"  Winona."  "  Don't  tell  me  where,  but  tell  me  when, 
you  are  going,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  try  to 
do."  So  she  fixed  upon  the  kind  of  dress  she  would 
materialize  iu,  and  some  things  she  would  do,  such  as 
carrying  flowers  to  persons  present ;  then,  meeting  him 
after  he  had  this  seance,  with  some  to  us  unknown 

40 


REMARKABLE  TESTS.  41 

medium,  for  materializations,  coming  to  Mr.  Fletcher, 
she  would  tell  him  every  particular.  These  things  were 
perfect  tests  of  the  genuineness  of  these  manifesta- 
tions. 

Spirits  out  of  their  earthly  bodies,  with  all  their 
extraordinary  powers,  seem  to  have  much  the  same 
characters  and  dispositions  as  in  the  matter-enveloped 
earth-life.  Of  course  this  must  be  the  case,  as  their 
feelings,  thoughts,  and  will  constitute  their  personality. 

Now,  my  little  spirit-friend  "  Dewdrop  "  was  as  fond 
of  Mr.  Low  as  was  Mr.  Fletcher's  friend  "  Winona ;  " 
and  they  were  naturally  a  little  jealous  of  each  other. 

One  day  "Dewdrop"  said  to  Mr.  Low,  "I  am 
going  to  weave  the  most  beautiful  scarf  in  colors  to- 
night. I  shall  wear  it  round  my  waist,  and  I  will  twine 
it  all  about  you."  But  at  the  seance,  instead  of  "  Dew- 
drop  "  there  came  "  Winona,"  wearing  a  colored  scarf, 
who  walked  up  to  him,  and  said,  "  Mr.  Low,  I  like 
you  perzackly  as  well  as  '  Dewdrop  '  does  :  so  I  thought 
I  would  come  and  do  the  scarf  instead." 

As  she  lifted  the  scarf  over  his  head  to  twine  it  about 
him,  "Dewdrop"  whisked  out  of  the  cabinet,  snatched 
the  scarf  from  "Winona,"  and  twined  it  round  and 
round  Mr.  Low.  "  Dewdrop's  "  revenge  was  to  carry 
off  a  bouquet  which  Mr.  Low  had  brought  for  "Wi- 
nona." 

Next  morninsr  Mr.  Low  came  to  see  Mr.  Fletcher ; 


42  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

but,  finding  bim  absent,  he  asked  to  have  a  sitting  with 
me.  "  Dewdrop  "  came,  and  complained  bitterly  of 
"  Winona." 

"  I  don't  care  if  she  is  a  spirit :  she  is  a  thief !  " 

"  Why,  Dewey  dear,"  said  Mr.  Low,  "  what  strong 
language !  " 

"  Well,  I  know  that  '  Winona  '  is  your  favorite  ;  but 
if  she  had  stolen  your  scarf,  as  she  did  mine,  you  would 
call  her  a  thief.  And  the  worst  of  it  is,  I  took  her 
flowers  and  dematerialized  them,  and  now  she  has  got 
them  in  the  spirit-world ;  for  in  that  world  we  always 
get  what  belongs  to  us  ! 

"  I  was  awfully  angry  at  '  Winona  ■  at  first ;  but  one 
of  the  bright  spirits  came,  and  said,  '  What  you  in  the 
earth-life  call  mistakes  are  penances  enforced  upon  you 
for  wrong  doing,  and  generally  result  in  restoring  the 
rights  of  those  you  have  injured.'  " 

Sitting  one  da}T  with  a  stranger,  I  experienced  a  cold 
shivering,  and  said  to  him,  "  You  must  go  at  once  and 
take  her  body  out  of  the  ice.  It  is  detaining  her  spirit, 
and  subjecting  it  to  horrible  suffering.  She  cannot 
speak  to  you.  She  says  it  don't  matter  about  carrying 
her  body  home  :  she  would  sooner  be  buried  at  Mount 
Auburn.  Never  again  put  the  body  of  any  recently 
deceased  friend  in  ice.  It  is  torturing  to  the  spirit  be- 
fore it  is  finally  released." 

The  seance  lasted  not  more  than  ten  minutes ;  and, 


REMARKABLE   TESTS.  43 

when  I  came  to  myself,  the  gentleman  said,  "You 
have  never  seen  me  before." 

"No." 

"I  know  it,  because  I  left  this  country  when  you 
were  a  child.  I  have  heard  enough  in  these  few  min- 
utes to  perfectly  convince  me  of  the  truth  of  Spirit- 
ualism." 

He  had  formerly  resided  in  Massachusetts,  where 
he  had  married.  Some  years  before,  he  had  removed 
to  Wisconsin,  where  his  wife  had  just  died.  He  had 
her  body  packed  in  ice,  and  came  with  it  to  Boston. 
Leaving  the  corpse  at  the  station,  he  came  to  consult 
a  medium  to  see  if  he  could  come  into  communication 
with  his  wife,  and  ask  her  where  she  wished  her  body 
to  be  buried. 

I  do  not  give  the  names  of  persons  who  visited  me 
as  a  medium,  unless  I  have  good  reason  to  believe 
they  will  not  object  to  such  publicity. 

One  of  my  frequent  visitors  at  this  time  was  Mr. 
George  Proctor,  the  editor  of  the  "Gloucester  (Massa- 
chusetts) Advertiser."  One  day  a  spirit  who  gave 
the  name  of  "Lucy"  came  to  him,  and  begged  him 
to  go  to  her  father  and  mother  at  Gloucester,  and  give 
them  a  message  from  her ;  and,  to  convince  them  of 
her  identity,  he  was  to  tell  them  from  her  certain  par- 
ticulars,—  as  when  and  in  what  way  she  died,  and 
what  arrangements  were  made  for  her  funeral.      She 


44  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

said  they  were  not  Spiritualists  :  but  she  wished  them 
to  know  that  the  old  home  and  her  dear  parents  were 
sweet  to  her,  and  that  she  begged  them  not  to  shut 
their  door  agaiust  her,  or  grieve  for  her,  or  think  of 
her  as  dead  ;  for  the  grief  of  friends  on  the  earth 
marred  the  happiness  of  the  spirit-life. 

On  his  return  to  Gloucester,  Mr.  Proctor  found 
Lucy's  parents,  gave  them  her  message,  and,  to  his 
own  satisfaction,  learned  the  accuracy  of  all  the  par- 
ticulars given  him. 

Another  gentleman  from  Gloucester,  Mr.  Robert 
Tibbets,  who  came  to  me  an  entire  stranger,  got  some 
very  convincing  tests.  At  his  first  sitting,  the  spirit 
of  a  young  girl  who  called  herself  "Maggie"  came, 
and,  speaking  by  my  lips,  said  to  him,  — 

' '  I  lived  in  Gloucester,  not  far  from  3-our  home  ; 
and  my  father,  whom  you  knew  well,  was  drowned 
when  sailing  in  a  vessel  in  which  you  were  interested. 
He  left  my  mamma  very  poor ;  and  she  has  no  fire 
and  no  food,  and  is  very  ill.  I  have  prayed  that  I 
might  help  her.  I  went  to  her  last  night.  She  thought 
she  had  been  dreaming.  I  said,  '  Mamma,  cheer  up. 
Papa  and  I  will  manage  to  help  you.' 

"  Now,  I  want  you  to  go  to  my  mamma.  She  lives 
at  (giving  street  and  number) ,  and  tell  her  that  Maggie 
sent  you.  Tell  her  she  is  a  medium  ;  and,  if  she  will 
try  to  believe,  I  shall  be  able  to  show  myself  to  her, 


REMARKABLE  TESTS.  45 

as  I  did  last  night.  Give  her  1113-  love,  and  tell  her 
that  papa  and  I,  under  the  care  of  her  guardian  angels, 
will  see  that  she  never  wants." 

This  gentleman,  an  old  and  honored  resident  of 
Gloucester,  on  his  return  went  at  once  to  the  address 
given  him  to  carry  out  Maggie's  commission.  It  was 
in  one  of  the  poorest  quarters  of  the  town  ;  and  he 
found  the  poor  woman  exactly  as  described, — ill  in 
bed,  suffering  from  cold,  with  no  food,  or  fire,  or  hope. 
He  sat  down  by  the  bed  to  further  "  try  the  spirits." 

"You  seem  very  badly  off,  my  poor  woman,"  he 
said. 

"  Yes.  My  husband  was  drowned  at  sea,  and  I  had 
no  other  help.  I  took  in  washing,  and  managed  to 
get  on  while  my  daughter  lived.  She  gathered  the 
clothes,  aud  carried  them  home  for  me ;  but  when  she 
died,  three  months  ago,  my  health  failed,  and  I  have 
come  to  this. 

"  Sir,  do  you  believe  in  angels?  I  do.  Last  night 
my  little  Maggie  came  to  me  in  my  dreams.  But  God 
must  have  permitted  it.  She  said,  '  Cheer  up,  darling 
mother.     Papa  and  I  will  help  you.'  " 

From  that  day  until  her  death,  eighteen  months 
afterward,  this  friend  took  care  that  Maggie's  mother 
wanted  for  nothing. 

Maggie  had  said  to  him,  "  Every  penny  you  give  to 
mamma  shall  be  returned  to  you  tenfold."     And  from 


46  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

that  clay  he  said  that  he  prospered  more  than  ever, 
and  every  thing  he  touched  seemed  to  turn  to  gold. 

One  day  a  gentleman  called  upon  us,  and  asked  if 
we  knew  the  address  of  a  certain  medium  he  wished 
to  find.     We  did  not  even  know  her  name. 

That  night  there  came  some  signal-raps ;  and  in 
answer  to  our  questions,  when  we  called  over  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  the  raps  spelled  out,  — 

"  I  am  '  Honto,'  and  I  belong  to  Mrs. . 

"  Oh,  you  are  '  Honto  !  '  "  I  said.  "  Then,  perhaps 
you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  your  medium's 
address  for  a  gentleman  who  has  been  inquiring  for 
her  to-day." 

"  Honto  "  rapped  out  the  required  address,  and  also 
this  message  to  us  :  — 

"Take  this  mone}T  to  my  medium,  who  is  in  great 
need,  and  tell  the  gentleman  who  asked  for  her  address 
to-day,  that  his  money  has  not  been  stolen  by  one  of 
the  servants,  as  he  supposes,  but  that  we  have  taken 
it  from  his  purse  ;  and  if  he  will  call  upon  my  medium 
to-morrow,  at  four  o'clock,  he  shall  have  the  money 
returned  to  him.  Take  this  money  to  my  medium  at 
once,  and  }'ou  shall  have  the  explanation  of  our  appar- 
ently strange  proceedings." 

As  this  message  was  finished,  a  twenty-dollar  bank- 
note fell  upon  the  carpet  at  our  feet. 

We  wrote  at  once  to  the  gentleman,  giving  him  the 


REMARKABLE   TESTS.  47 

address  he  sought,  and  "  Honto's"  message,  and  then 
called  a  carriage,  and  drove  to  the  residence  of  the 
medium.  On  our  arrival  we  found  a  cart  before  the 
door.  The  poor  medium  had  been  unable  to  pay  her 
rent,  and  the  cart  had  come  to  take  away  her  furniture. 
The  money  we  had  brought  her  paid  the  rent,  and  the 
cart  went  empty  away.  The  much-relieved  woman 
told  us  that  she  had  written  to  her  friends  for  help, 
but  for  some  reason  had  got  no  answer.  But  the 
expected  letter  and  help  came  before  the  gentleman 
from  whom  "  Honto  "  had  borrowed  the  money  called, 
as  requested.  She  handed  him  the  money ;  but,  now 
that  he  knew  her  situation,  he  refused  to  receive  it. 

Such  special  providences  are  managed  by  our  spirit- 
friends  in  multitudes  of  cases  in  which  we  do  not  sus- 
pect their  agency. 

There  are  a  few  instances  which  I  remember ;  but  a 
multitude,  marked  by  no  special  circumstance,  have 
faded  from  my  mind.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  I  should 
remember  such  a  case  as  that  of  Mr.  Wilson,  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  On  his  last  visit  to 
Boston,  he  came  to  consult  Mr.  Fletcher  about  his 
health.  The  controlling  spirits  gave  him  a  diagnosis 
of  his  case,  and  told  him  that  he  could  not  remain  six 
months  longer  in  this  life,  unless  he  retired  from  all 
active  work.  To  make  their  advice  more  impressive, 
they  gave  him  some  striking  tests,  showing  their  knowl- 
edge of  some  details  of  his  life. 


48  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Mr.  Wilson,  a  grand,  self-made  man,  of  whom  Mas- 
sachusetts was  and  is  justly  proud,  said  to  me,  — 

kt  Well,  Mrs.  Fletcher,  I  suppose  I  must  go  and  make 
my  will.  I  don't  know  why  I  should  try  to  stay  here. 
There  seems  to  be  a  great  deal  more  of  reality  in  the 
spirit- world  than  in  this.  Heaven  is  full  of  certainties, 
and  for  me  death  has  no  terrors." 

These  were  the  last  words  I  heard  him  utter.  In 
three  months  he  had  gone  to  test  the  realities  of  the 
world  of  spirits. 

It  was,  I  think,  in  1875  that  a  stranger  came  to  me 
for  a  medical  diagnosis,  —  a  tall,  strong  man,  who 
seemed  to  be  possessed  of  considerable  magnetic  power. 
He  was,  I  found,  employed  as  a  medical  rubber  by  a 
gentleman  on  Beacon  Hill,  Boston,  who  had  been  given 
up  by  his  physicians.  The  diagnosis  given  by  my 
spirit-guides  quite  differed  from  that  of  the  physicians ; 
but,  as  "  doctors  disagree,"  we  need  not  be  surprised 
when  spirits  differ  from  doctors.  The  medical  rubber 
was  directed  how  to  treat  his  patient.  He  was  told  to 
use  magnetized  water  and  magnetized  paper,  and  was 
shown  how  to  magnetize  them.  Under  these  instruc- 
tions he  became  a  strong,  effective  magnetizer,  or  mes- 
merist :  and  his  patient  in  a  few  weeks  —  I  think 
three  weeks  —  happily  recovered.  For  three  months 
I  examined  the  cases  of  his  patients,  and  gave,  or 
rather  the  spirits  gave  through  me,  directions  for  their 


REMARKABLE   TESTS.  49 

treatment ;  for  which  I  received  no  compensation  but 
that  of  being  the  means  of  relieving  suffering,  which 
is  the  best  of  all. 

This  mesmeric  healer  whose  work  I  thus  assisted 
was  the  James  McGeary,  alias  "Doctor  Mack,"  who 
afterward  became  one  of-  the  most  virulent  of  my  per- 
secutors, and  whose  name,  as  of  one  returning  evil  for 
good,  must,  to  my  great  regret,  often  appear  in  the 
course  of  this  narrative. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

MR.    FLETCHER   VISITS    EGYPT   AND    PALESTINE,    AND   WE 
SETTLE    IN    LONDON. 

We  had  taken  the  house  No.  7  Montgomery  Place 
until  January,  187G,  where  we  went  on,  day  by  day, 
with  our  interesting  but  arduous  work,  which  lasted  all 
day,  aud  often  deep  into  the  night,  and  which,  by 
bringing  us  into  contact  with  so  many  and  often  so 
discordant  spheres,  and  with  persons  in  various  states 
of  physical  weakness  and  nervous  disorder,  wore  upon 
us.  I  bore  it  better  than  nry  husband,  having  a  more 
vigorous  constitution.  The  worry  of  family  troubles, 
to  which  I  have  made  allusion,  hurt  him  more,  perhaps, 
than  his  work.  New-England  winters  are  very  severe. 
His  lungs  and  heart  were  affected,  and  his  life  was 
despaired  of. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1877,  "Winona"  came  to 
me,  and  said,  "  You  had  better  get  my  medium's  box 
ready.  He  is  going  to  London."  This  announcement 
was  a  surprise  to  me.  I  could  not  credit  it.  Mr. 
Fletcher  seemed  too  ill  to  travel.  But  "Winona  "  per- 
50 


MR.   FLETCHER   VISITS   EGYPT.  51 

sisted  in  her  assertion.  "I  tell  you  it  is  all  that  will 
save  his  life,"  she  said;  "and  you  must  paek  his 
box." 

When  Mr.  Fletcher  came  out  of  the  trance  in  which 
he  had  been  speaking  for  "  Winona,"  I  told  him  what 
she  had  said.  He  laughed  at  the  idea,  and  said  it  was 
"  some  of  her  nonsense."  "I  am  as  likely  to  take  a 
trip  to  the  moon  as  to  London." 

On  the  8th  of  January,  at  about  ten  a.m.,  Mr.  George 
Smith,  a  friend  of  ours,  called  to  say  good-by  to  us. 
He  said,  "  I  am  going  with  my  family  to  London."  I 
told  him  what  "Winona"  had  said,  and  suggested 
that  she  had  made  a  mistake,  and  meant  him  instead 
of  Mr.  Fletcher.  He  said  he  had  not  known  that  he 
was  going  himself  until  the  previous  day. 

That  evening  he  brought  his  wife  to  say  good-by  to 
us.  We  four  had  a  farewell  seance.  The  spirits  in- 
sisted that  my  husband  should  go  to  England.  Our 
friends  wanted  to  take  him  with  them. 

"Are  you  willing  to  let  him  go?"  they  asked  me. 
"  Let  us  know  in  the  morning." 

So  we  discussed  the  matter  seriously  between  our- 
selves and  also  with  our  spirit-friends.  There  was  the 
risk  to  an  invalid  of  a  winter-voyage.  It  was  very 
hard  to  think  of  parting  with  him.  But  the  spirits  said 
he  must  go,  that  it  would  save  his  life,  and  that,  more- 
over, he  had  a  great  work  to  do  in  England. 


52  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PKISON. 

At  ten  a.m.  on  the  9th  of  January,  our  friend  Mr. 
Smith  came  for  his  answer.  I  packed  my  husband's 
trunk,  and  on  the  10th  he  left  for  London.  They  had 
a  good  voyage  ;  travelled  together  over  the  Continent, 
and  went  to  Egypt,  and  thence  to  Jerusalem  and  the 
Holy  Land ;  and  Mr.  Fletcher  was  treated  by  these  ex- 
cellent friends  with  unremitting  kindness.  The  change, 
the  securing  of  rest,  the  strange  and  interesting  coun- 
tries, and  the  soft,  dry  atmosphere  and  sunshine  of 
Egypt  and  Palestine,  restored  his  health. 

While  in  Egypt,  Mr.  Smith,  one  day  while  out  walk- 
ing, lost  a  packet  which  he  carried  in  the  breast- 
pocket of  his  coat,  containing  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  in  Bank-of-England  notes.  He  missed  the 
packet  when  he  came  to  the  hotel,  but  had  no  idea 
how  or  where  he  had  lost  it.  He  said  nothing  about  it, 
but  soon  after  proposed  to  have  a  seance.  "Winona" 
came,  and  said  to  him,  "Mr.  Smith,  you  are  awfully 
worried  about  something.  I  know  what  it  is.  You 
have  lost  some  money.  Don't  fret  about  it.  I  will 
find  it,  and  bring  it  to  you." 

After  the  seance  Mr.  Smith  went  to  bed,  and  found 
the  packet  of  money  under  his  pillow.  This  did  not 
in  the  least  lessen  our  obligations  to  our  good  friends  ; 
but  I  think  it  had  a  pleasant  effect  on  all  of  us,  which 
the  reader  perhaps  can  appreciate  better  than  I  can 
describe. 


MR.   FLETCHER   VISITS   EGYPT.  53 

Spiritualists  are  often  asked  what  is  the  use  of 
spirit-manifestations.  The  first  aud  highest  and  all- 
important  use  is  to  prove  that  spirits  exist,  that  Spiritu- 
alism is  a  reality,  that  there  is  no  truth  in  materialism, 
that  we  are  all  to  live  on,  and  to  show  at  least  the 
probability  that  we  are  to  live  forever.  Spirits  may 
show  us  the  means  of  health  ;  they  are  often  able  to 
assuage  our  pains,  and  cure  our  diseases  ;  in  various 
ways  they  console  and  comfort  us ;  they  not  seldom 
contribute  to  our  material  prosperity.  But  what  are 
all  these  things  to  the  demonstrations  they  are  able  to 
give  us  of  the  sublime  fact  of  individual  immortality! 

In  May,  1877,  Mr.  Fletcher  returned  to  London, 
where  he  was  told  he  must  stay,  and  do  his  work.  He 
took  rooms  in  Southampton  Row,  and  began  to  give 
free  skinces ;  but  the  crowd  that  came  to  him  soon 
compelled  him  to  fix  a  price.  "  The  laborer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire  ; ' '  and  ' k  they  who  serve  the  altar  must  live 
by  the  altar."  If  lawyers,  doctors,  and  clergymen 
are  paid,  why  not  mediums? 

As  soon  as  he  was  settled  to  his  work  in  London, 
Mr.  Fletcher  urged  me  to  come  to  him  ;  but  I  thought 
it  better  to  wait  until  there  was  some  assurance  of 
success.  He  might  return  to  Boston :  there  was  the 
risk  of  failure.  But  in  June  he  telegraphed  to  me  to 
"  Come."  And  very  shortly  afterward  I  joined  him  ; 
and  we  lived  at  No.  2  Vernon  Place,  Bloomsbury, 
London. 


54  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  PKISON. 

The  "  Spiritualist,"  a  weekly  paper  which  for  years 
did  much  good  service  to  the  cause  of  Spiritualism, 
and  which  also  did  us  good  service  for  a  time,  and 
then  turned,  with  a  great,  and  to  me  unaccountable, 
bitterness  against  us,  announced  in  its  issue  of  May 
11,  1877,  that  "Next  Monday  week  Mr.  Fletcher, 
trance-medium,  of  the  United  States,  will  give  a  trance- 
address  for  the  first  time  in  this  country  in  public,  at 
one  of  Mrs.  Weldon's  weekly  concerts  at  the  Lang- 
ham  Hall,  Portland  Place,  London/ ' 

The  same  paper  of  May  18,  1877,  said,  "If,  in- 
stead of  a  trance-address,  Mr.  Fletcher  could  give  to 
a  large  audience  the  evidence  of  spirit  identity  which 
he  does  to  a  small  one,  he  would  awaken  considerable 
interest. " 

These  evidences  were  soon  given,  not  only  to  large 
audiences  in  Langham  Hall  and  the  Cavendish  Rooms, 
but  afterward  to  the  still  larger  ones  at  Steinway 
Hall.  Nearly  every  number  of  the  "  Spiritualist " 
during  the  year  1877  contained  reports  of  public  ad- 
dresses or  private  seances  given  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  and 
the  highest  possible  testimony  to  the  genuineness  and 
value  of  his  manifestations. 

Brought  into  a  circle  of  twelve  or  fifteen  persons,  — 
all  strangers  to  him,  some  foreigners,  or  persons  from 
distant  parts  of  England,  —  he  passed  quickly  into  the 
trance-condition,  and,  controlled  by  "  Winona,"  gave 


ME.   FLETCHER   VISITS   EGYPT.  55 

to  each,  in  turn,  the  most  convincing  evidences  of  the 
personal  presence  and  identity  of  their  departed  friends. 
The  same  was  done  for  many  persons  also,  under  the 
probably  more  difficult  conditions  of  a  large  audience 
in  a  public  hall. 

The  first  public  lectures  or  trance-addresses,  after 
those  at  Mrs.  Weldon's  concerts,  were  given  in  the 
Cavendish  Rooms,  Mortimer  Street,  Cavendish  Square. 
Later,  these  meetings  were  continued  in  Steinway 
Hall,  a  larger  place,  in  a  more  fashionable  locality, 
near  Portman  Square. 


CHAPTER  X. 

22    GORDON    STREET,    AND    MRS.    HART-DAVIES. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1879,  needing  more  room 
and  better  accommodations  than  we  were  able  to  find 
in  lodgings,  we  took  a  lease  of  a  good  house  (but  by 
no  means  the  "palatial  mansion"  it  has  been  called 
in  the  newspapers),  No.  22  Gordon  Street,  Gordon 
Square.  It  seemed  to  us  central,  accessible,  and 
healthy ;  the  many  neighboring  squares  giving  us  a 
purer  air  than  is  found  in  many  parts  of  London. 

It  is  proper  for  me  to  say  here,  that  I  had  never 
been  a  professional  medium  in  London.  I  gave  seances 
only  to  intimate  friends.  Only  once  had  I  spoken  in 
public,  —  at-  the  celebration  of  the  Anniversary  of 
Spirtualism,  at  the  Cavendish  Rooms,  April  2,  1879. 

Among  the  public  testimonies  to  the  reality  of  Mr. 
Fletcher's  mediumship,  and  the  value  of  its  manifesta- 
tions, that  of  Mr.  Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  the  cele- 
brated naturalist,  will  be  to  many  persons  of  the  highest 
interest.  In  the  "  Spiritualist "  of  Jan.  25,  1878,  Mr. 
Wallace  says,  "My  first  sitting  with  Mr.  Fletcher,  a 
56 


22  GORDON   STREET.  57 

few  weeks  ago,  carried  to  my  mind  a  fuller  con- 
viction OF  THE  REALITY  OF  SPIRIT-LIFE  THAN  ALL  THE 
PHYSICAL  PHENOMENA  I  HAVE  EVER  WITNESSED." 

It  was  such  testimony  as  this,  from  a  man  of  the 
highest  scientific  reputation  since  the  death  of  Charles 
Darwin  in  England,  which  should  have  been  given  to 
the  jury  that  found  a  verdict  of  guilty  against  us  both 
at  the  Old  Bailey.  Mr.  Wallace  and  a  score  of  wit- 
nesses besides  —  of  similar  character,  and  some  of 
almost  equal  reputation  —  would  have  given  similar 
evidence.  My  feed  defenders,  for  reasons  best  known 
to  themselves,  refused  to  call  them.  And  that  was 
called  a  trial,  in  which  my  witnesses  were  uncalled, 
and  I  was  condemned  unheard.  But  I  am  getting  in 
advance  of  mj'  story,  and  must  try  to  be  patient  to  the 
end. 

The  Sunday  evening  meetings  at  Steinway  Hall  were 
very  successful,  perhaps  too  successful.  It  was  a  sur- 
prise to  the  public  that  we  should  be  admitted  into  a 
place  so  elegant  and  so  aristocratic.  The  Hall  was  at 
first  refused ;  but  influence  enough  was  brought  to  bear 
to  induce  the  proprietors  to  reconsider  the  matter,  and 
we  had  ever  after  their  cordial  co-operation.  The  An- 
niversary of  Spiritualism  was  celebrated  there  during 
the  progress  of  my  trial  in  1881. 

I  come  now  to  the  most  painful,  but  most  necessary, 
portion  of  my  story,  —  the   events  which   led   to  our 


58  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

prosecution  and  trial,  and  my  imprisonment.  Painful 
as  they  are  in  many  ways,  justice  demands  that  they 
should  be  faithfully  and  fully  related.  The  public  has 
had  one  side  of  the  story,  published  in  all  the  news- 
papers. I  have  to  give,  as  best  I  can,  the  other  side 
of  that  story.  If  any  editor  of  any  newspaper  in  Eng- 
land takes  the  least  notice  of  my  side  of  the  story,  or 
even  admits  that  there  is  another  story  than  that  given 
to  the  public  on  my  "  trial,"  conviction,  and  sentence, 
and  in  the  leading  articles  that  echoed  and  amplified 
the  sentence,  I  shall  be  very  happily  disappointed. 

I  make  my  appeal  to  the  sense  of  justice,  said  to  be 
so  strong  in  Englishmen,  with  but  little  hope,  because 
so  far  I  have  had  so  little  evidence  of  its  existence. 

In  April,  1879,  after  we  had  taken  the  house  No.  22 
Gordon  Street,  of  which  we  were  to  have  possession 
on  the  25th  of  June,  a  Mr.  Hart-Davies,  residing  at 
Farquhar  Lodge,  Upper  Norwood,  who  had  been  advised 
by  some  friends  to  consult  Mr.  Fletcher,  came  to  him, 
and  asked  him  to  visit  his  wife,  who  was  an  invalid 
requiring  treatment ;  and,  as  she  was  too  ill  to  come  to 
Gordon  Street,  he  engaged  Mr.  Fletcher  to  go  and  see 
her  twice  a  week  at  Farquhar  Lodge,  for  which  the 
price  was  to  be  three  guineas  per  visit. 

He  went  at  the  time  appointed,  and  found  a  pale, 
delicate-looking  lady,  with  a  highly  nervous  organiza- 


22  GORDON  STREET.  59 

tion,  who  appeared  to  take  a  great  interest  in  Spirit- 
ualism, and  told  him  that  she  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  seeing  angels  or  departed  spirits  from  her  childhood, 
and  that  she  often  held  sweet  communion  with  her 
departed  mother. 

Mr.  Fletcher  made  a  clairvoyant  examination  of  her 
case ;  and  she  felt  so  much  benefited  by  his  magnetic 
or  mesmeric  treatment,  that  she  begged  him  to  come 
and  see  her  every  day,  instead  of  twice  a  week,  as 
arranged  for  with  her  husband. 

Mr.  Fletcher  did  not  see  any  need  of  such  frequent 
visits,  as  they  would  interfere  with  his  other  engage- 
ments, and  told  her  that  it  would  be  better  that  he 
should  come  twice  a  week,  which  he  continued  to  do 
until  the  middle  of  June. 

At  Mr.  Fletcher's  second  visit  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
she  told  him  of  her  domestic  difficulties.  She  said  she 
was  very  unhappy.  She  was  not  living  with  her 
husband  as  his  wife :  they  were  virtually  separated  ; 
because,  from  his  past  and  present  habits  and  his 
debilitated  condition,  he  could  not  be  her  husband. 
Entering  very  fully  upon  her  personal  history,  of 
which,  as  we  found  later  on,  she  made  no  secret,  she 
told  him  how  her  mother  had  forced  her,  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  to  marry  a  man  whom  she  detested,  by  whom 
she  had  one  child,  and  whom  she  left  on  account  of  his 
immoralities.     Her  boy,  she   said,  had   inherited   the 


60  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

bad  traits  of  his  father,  and  was  so  entirely  beyond 
her  control,  that  she  had  allowed  his  father  to  take 
charge  of  him. 

We  found,  later  on,  that  much  of  this  story  was 
false,  and  that  her  first  husband  had  sued  for  a  divorce 
from  her  as  an  adulteress ;  which  suit  had  been  de- 
cided in  his  favor. 

In  Mrs.  Hart-Davies'  conversations  with  my  hus- 
band she  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  see  me,  because 
he  was  doing  her  so  much  good.  Mr.  Fletcher  told 
her  that  I  made  no  visits.  She  then  asked  permission 
to  write  to  me,  and  did  write  nearly  ever}7  day  until 
June.  She  often  sent  me  flowers,  and  wished  me  to 
consider  her  a  personal  friend  in  whom  I  was  also 
interested.  Naturally  I  felt  a  sympathy  for  one  who 
had  suffered  so  much,  and  I  was  glad  that  my  hus- 
band was  treating  her  so  successfully  that  she  seemed 
to  be  steadily  gaining  in  health  from  every  visit  he 
made  her. 

About  the  middle  of  June  Mr.  Hart-Davies  invited 
me  to  dine  with  them,  and  spend  the  day.  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  telegraphed  the  same  invitation  to  us,  which 
we  accepted.  He  met  us  at  the  station,  and  attended 
upon  me  to  Farquhar  Lodge,  where  I  for  the  first  time 
saw  Mrs.  Hart-Davies.  She  warmly  embraced  me, 
expressed  her  gratitude  for  Mr.  Fletcher's  treatment 
and  all  his  kindness  to  her,  and  said  and  did  every 


22   GORDON   STREET.  61 

thing  she  could  to  show  her  friendly  feelings  to  us 
both.  There  was  a  fete  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  where 
we  spent  the  day,  and  dined ;  and  as  there  was  a  great 
crowd,  and  it  began  to  rain,  we  accepted  an  invitation 
to  spend  the  night  with  our  hosts  at  Farquhar  Lodge. 

The  next  day  (Sunday)  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
came  into  town,  and  went  with  us  to  Mr.  Fletcher's 
lecture,  at  Steinway  Hall.  By  this  time  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  and  I  had  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation 
together.  I  found  her  intelligent  and  accomplished, 
and  have  seldom  taken  so  much  interest  in  any  one  of 
whom  I  had  known  so  little.  From  circumstances  in 
my  own  past  experience  I  could  sympathize  with  her 
in  some  of  her  troubles.  I  pitied  her  misfortunes,  — 
deserted  or  abused  by  all  her  friends  and  relatives, 
living  so  uncomfortably  with  her  husband,  and  in 
every  way  so  desolate. 

I  wished  to  help  her,  and  make  her  life  more  pleas- 
ant to  her.  She  begged  that  she  might  come  and  see 
us  often  in  London.  I  was  too  much  occupied  to  see 
her  always,  but  did  see  her  about  twice  a  week.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  became  seat-holders  at  Stein- 
way Hall,  and  regular  attendants  at  the  Sunday  meet- 
ings. 

Mr.  Fletcher  was  also,  at  this  time,  giving  lectures 
at  Mrs.  Weldon's  Institution  for  Orphans  at  Tavistock 
House,   formerly   the   residence   of  Charles  Dickens, 


62  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

where  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  also  went ;  so  that  I  saw  her 
about  four  times  a  week. 

She  seemed  to  become  more  and  more  attached  to 
us,  more  and  more  fond  of  both  of  us.  She  talked 
with  me  very  freely  about  her  domestic  troubles. 
She  made  bitter  complaints  of  her  second  and  pres- 
ent husband,  who,  she  said,  was  an  ignoramus ;  who 
had  squandered  his  money ;  who  had  pawned  her 
jewels,  and  spent  the  proceeds  in  debauchery  ;  who 
drank  to  excess  ;  and  who  was  in  no  way  fit  to  be  her 
husband. 

I  was  surprised  and  shocked  at  some  of  these  reve- 
lations. I  wondered  how  she  could  ever  have  married 
a  man  so  little  suited  to  her  position,  education,  and 
habits.  She  said  that  she  had  hastily,  inconsiderate- 
ly married  him  for  pity,  and  not  for  love.  He  was 
madly  in  love  with  her,  and  she  was  very  desolate. 
She  had  sacrificed  herself  for  him. 

Afterward  I  heard  another  and  a  very  different 
story,  of  the  truth  of  which  I  shall  give  the  necessaiy 
proofs.  While  living  with  her  first  husband  in  South 
America,  she  became  acquainted  with  a  young  Swedish 
engineer,  with  whom  she  became  very  intimate.  After 
her  return  to  England,  and  after  her  divorce,  —  in  re- 
spect to  which  he  was  not  the  co-respondent,  —  she 
wrote  to  him  that  she  had  come  into  a  great  property, 
and  had  many  offers  of  marriage,  but  that  she  wished 


22  GORDON   STREET.  63 

to  know  if  he  still  loved  her.  Her  friend  replied  in 
substance  that  he  was  not  a  marrying  man.  She  in- 
vited him,  however,  to  come  and  see  her  at  Hampton 
Court ;  and  he  accepted  her  invitation. 

One  question  must  come  into  the  mind  of  every 
reader,  as  it  has  so  often  into  mine :  — 

Why  had  I  no  warning,  no  perception,  no  revelation, 
of  the  real  character  of  this  woman?  Why  did  not 
our  guardian  spirits  tell  us  all  about  her,  as  they  did 
about  so  many  others?  It  is  easy  to  ask  such  ques- 
tions, and  impossible  to  answer  them. 

"  There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

We  are  protected  from  some  misfortunes ;  others  fall 
upon  us.  We  are  guided  and  guarded ;  but  great 
calamities,  or  what  seem  to  be  such,  come  upon  us 
without  warning.  My  husband  and  I  were  both  fas- 
cinated with  this  woman  ;  and  neither  of  us  had  any 
perception  of  her  real  character,  nor  were  we  in  any 
way  warned  against  her.  Our  guardian  spirits  were 
either  as  much  blinded  as  we,  or  they  were  prevented, 
for  a  time,  from  giving  us  any  information. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE    STORY    OF   THE    JEWELS    AND    THE   DEED    OF    GIFT. 

One  night  when  I  was  ill,  and  not  able  to  go  to 
the  lecture  at  Tavistock  House,  Mr.  Fletcher  returned 
with  a  bouquet  from  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  around  which 
she  had  tied  a  lace  handkerchief  which  had  belonged 
to  her  mother,  with  this  message:  u  Tell  Bertie  that 
I  am  mamma's  little  carrier-pigeon,  and  that  I  send 
this,  handkerchief  and  these  flowers  with  mamma's 
love  and  mine." 

This  was  the  first  present  of  any  value  she  had 
made  me,  and  for  this  there  was  an  obvious  reason. 
Up  to  this  time  she  had  paid  Mr.  Fletcher  only  five 
pounds  for  all  his  visits  to  her  upon  the  agreement  to 
pay  him  three  guineas  a  week  ;  and  this  five  pounds 
was  all  the  money  she  ever  paid. 

Soon  after  sending  the  bouquet  she  came  to  see  me, 
and  expressed  great  sympathy  with  me  in  my  illness. 
After  some  expressions  of  affection  she  said,  "Will 
you  do  me  a  great  favor?  I  have  not  been  able  to 
pay  Mr.  Fletcher  the  money  I  owe  him  for  all  his 
64 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   JEWELS.  65 

visits  and  his  kindness  to  me ;  but  I  want  to  give 
you  something  I  prize  very  much,  that  belonged  to 
mamma." 

Saying  this,  she  took  from  her  pocket  a  box  con- 
taining a  necklace  of  amethysts.  They  were  of  no 
great  value,  but  were  accepted  in  kindness,  as  they 
were  offered.  This  was,  I  think,  in  the  month  of  Jul}' ; 
and  up  to  this  time  the  only  jewels  of  hers  I  had  ever 
seen  were  a  heart-shaped  pendant  of  diamonds,  and 
ear- jewels  to  match,  which  she  frequently  wore. 

On  the  night  that  Mr.  Fletcher  brought  me  the 
bouquet  and  lace  handkerchief  from  Tavistock  House, 
he  said  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  were  going  to 
leave  Farquhar  Lodge  because  they  could  not  afford 
to  keep  it,  and  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  told  him 
that  she  had  an  extensive  wardrobe  which  had  belonged 
to  her  mother,  which  was  packed  in  boxes,  and  some 
furs,  which  would  spoil  if  packed  ;  but  if  she  could 
only  find  some  friend  who  had  honse-room,  so  as  to 
keep  them  for  her,  she  would  be  glad  to  leave  them. 

We  had  plenty  of  room,  and  I  saw  no  objection  to 
our  taking  charge  of  her  things.  There  was  box- 
room  and  a  wine-cellar  quite  empty.  The  china  vases, 
etc.,  could  be  placed  in  our  rooms,  and  the  furs 
properh* taken  care  of. 

She  came  to  see  us  in  a  few  days,  when  we  arranged 
what  was   to   be   done  to  protect  the  clothing  from 


G6  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PEISON. 

damp,  the  furs  from  moths,  and  how  the  china  should 
be  placed  so  that  she  could  see  it  when  she  called.  I 
consented  to  take  charge  of  her  things  on  the  condition 
that  I  should  not  be  held  responsible, for  loss  or  dam- 
age. She  wrote  a  paper  which  held  me  free  from  any 
responsibility  for  careless  servants,  fire,  or  thieves  ;  and 
I  consented  to  receive  and  store  her  things.  Nothing- 
was  said  of  jewels,  and  I  had  no  knowledge  of  any 
but  those  I  have  mentioned. 

About  the  last  of  July  she  seemed  ill,  and  had  a 
cough.  A  weakness  of  the  chest  had  compelled  her 
for  several  years  to  spend  the  winters  in  a  warmer 
climate.  She  complained  of  her  husband's  drinking, 
and  his  cruel  treatment  of  her.  In  the  first  week  in 
August  she  came,  and  said  she  had  been  frightfully  ill, 
and  believed  that  her  husband  had  attempted  to  poison 
her.  He  was  deeply  in  debt,  she  said.  He  had  bor- 
rowed all  the  money  he  could  of  his  brother,  and  had 
pawned  some  of  her  valuable  jewels  for  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds,  and  still  needed  two  hundred  pounds 
more,  and  was  teasing  her  for  more  jewels ;  but  she 
had  refused  to  let  him  have  them.  The  night  before, 
he  had  come  home  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  and 
brought  her  a  glass  of  port  wine.  She  drank  it,  and 
was  violently  ill  all  night,  —  so  much  so,  that  she  sus- 
pected poison,  and  found  a  white  sediment  in  the 
glass.  He  sat  in  his  room  all  night,  intoxicated; 
and  he  allowed  an  escape  of  gas  in  the  hall. 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   JEWELS.  G7 

She  declared  that  she  could  uot  and  would  not 
endure  this  horrible  life  any  longer :  she  would  sepa- 
rate herself  from  her  husband,  and  was  determined  to 
leave  Farquhar  Lodge. 

A  few  days  after  this  conversation  I  received  a 
note  from  her,  asking  me  to  come  to  her  at  Farquhar 
Lodge.  Not  feeling  able  to  accept  the  invitation,  I 
asked  Mr.  Fletcher  to  write  to  her.  I  soon  received  a 
telegram  from  Mr.  Hart-Davies,  saying  that  his  wife 
was  very  ill,  and  begging  me  to  come  and  see  her. 

I  went  as  quickly  as  possible.  She  said  her  hus- 
band had  been  drunk  again,  and  had  treated  her  most 
brutally.  lie  had  even  beaten  her,  she  said :  he  had 
actually  struck  her  three  times. 

I  was  probably  too  credulous  in  believing  these 
stories.  Mr.  Hart-Davies  had  always  seemed  to  me 
a  good-natured  fellow,  and  very  devoted  to  his  wife. 
Her  greatest  complaint  against  him  was,  that  his  vices 
had  reduced  him  to  a  condition  of  physical  weakness 
that  made  him  an  unsatisfactory  husband.  Looking 
back  upon  the  case,  I  can  have  no  doubt  that  she  was 
a  victim  of  a  disease  of  quite  a  different  nature,  and 
which  sometimes  gives  great  trouble  to  plij'sicians. 

Before  receiving  the  articles  which  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
wished  us  to  store  for  her,  we  required  that  her  hus- 
band, as  the  real  owner  of  all  his  wife's  property, 
should  either  call  upon  us,  or  write  and  ask  us  to 


68  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

receive  it.  He  wrote  and  also  called,  and  said  he 
had  heard  of  the  arrangement,  and  would  consider  it 
a  great  kindness.  We  showed  him  the  box-room  and 
empty  wine-cellar,  and  he  seemed  very  grateful  for 
our  kindness  to  his  wife. 

This  visit  was  on  or  about  the  1st  of  August,  1879. 
About  the  middle  of  August,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  came, 
bringing  a  small  travelling-bag,  and  said  to  me,  "Mrs. 
Fletcher,  I  am  going  to  ask  a  great  favor  of  you.  I 
want  to  make  my  will.  I  love  you  both  better  than 
anybody  in  this  world.  I  have  brought  some  things 
I  wish  to  give  you,  not  only  for  the  love  I  bear  3-ou 
both,  but  because  I  want  what  I  have  to  go  for  the 
support  of  Spiritualism,  and  to  help  your  work.  If 
you  will  accept  of  this  free  offering,  you  will  be  doing 
me  the  greatest  possible  favor." 

I  thanked  her  for  her  good  feeling  to  us  and  to  our 
work ;  but  I  said,  "  My  dear,  you  have  other  persons 
to  consider.     There  is  your  son." 

"  He  is  abundantly  provided  for.  His  father  is 
immensely  rich." 

"  But  there  is  your  brother  and  his  wife." 

"  He  is  an  equal  heir  with  me  to  m}^  mother's  prop- 
erty, and  his  wife  I  detest.  I  could  never  rest  in  my 
grave  if  she  had  any  thing  that  belonged  to  mamma. 
Besides,  the  jewels  are  not  safe  in  the  house.  I  have 
no  peace  about  them." 


THE   STORY    OF   THE   JEWELS.  69 

"  But,"  I  said,  "  we  have  no  safe.  Our  bouse  might 
be  robbed  at  auy  time.  The  best  thing  to  do  is  for 
you  to  put  them  in  some  bank  for  safe-keeping." 

"That  is  not  what  I  want.  If  I  live,  I  want  to 
share  the  jewels  with  }tou,  as  if  we  were  two  sisters  ; 
and  if  I  die  I  want  you  to  have  them." 

Then  she  opened  her  bag;  and  showed  me  the  jewels. 

"  How  do  you  know,"  I  asked,  "whether  your 
mamma  would  like  to  have  you  give  them  to  me?  " 

She  said  she  had  had  a  vision  the  night  before,  in 
which  her  mother  had  appeared  to  her,  and  expressed 
her  wishes. 

I  said,  "  Come,  here  is  a  good  chance  for  a  test. 
Mr.  Fletcher  knows  nothing  about  them.  Let's  put 
the  bag  away,  and  call  for  him.  If  your  mamma  will 
come,  we  shall  see  what  she  has  to  say  about  it." 

I  sent  for  Mr.  Fletcher.  He  came,  and  soon  went 
into  a  trance  ;  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  recognized  her 
mother  as  the  spirit  speaking  through  him,  and  said,  — 

"  You  came  to  me  last  night,  mamma." 

"Yes,  my  child." 

"  Do  you  approve  of  what  I  wish  to  do,  mamma?  " 

"My  child,  the  jewels  are  your  own  to  do  with  as 
you  please,  —  to  let  your  husband  have  them,  to  throw 
into  the  street,  to  give  as  you  wish.  They  are  abso- 
lutely yours." 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  then  brought  out  the  jewels  as 


70  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

she  testified  at  my  trial,  and  laid  them  on  Mr.  Fletch- 
er's lap.  He,  still  controlled  by  the  spirit  of  her 
mother,  took  up  the  jewels  one  by  one,  examined 
them,  gave  the  names  of  their  makers,  saying,  "  I  got 
this  from"  such  a  one;  and  gave,  in  short,  a  series 
of  marvellous  tests,  which  only  a  Spiritualist,  or  one 
who  has  witnessed  such  manifestations,  can  under- 
stand. 

When  Mr.  Fletcher  came  out  of  his  trance,  the 
jewels  were  still  lying  in  his  lap  ;  and  she  told  him,  as 
she  had  told  me,  what  she  wished  to  do  with  them. 
He  said,  "  It  is  very  good  of  you  to  wish  to  give  them 
to  Bertie,  but  of  course  she  cannot  accept  such  a 
gift.  If  you  choose  to  wear  them  together,  I  see  no 
objection,  only  that  we  have  no  safe  place  to  keep 
them."  But  he  left  the  matter  to  me,  and  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  insisted  on  leaving  the  bag  in  my  keeping. 

A  short  time  before  this,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had 
spoken  to  me  about  some  difficulty  she  had  about  some 
property  in  New  York,  and  asked  me  if  I  knew  any 
American  lawj'er  who  would  understand  about  it.  I 
told  her  that  Mr.  Morton,  a  Boston  lawyer  who  was 
then  staying  with  us,  would  know  all  about  it.  He 
was  a  gentleman  of  excellent  character  and  good  stand- 
ing, and  might  be  able  to  do  what  she  would  require, 
or  would  know  of  some  one  in  New  York  who  would 
attend  to  it.  I  asked  her  to  stay  and  dine  writh  us, 
and  be  introduced  to  Mr.  Morton. 


THE   STOTIY   OF    THE   JEWELS.  71 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  staid  to  dinner,  and  became  very 
friendly  with  Mr.  Morton,  whom  she  called  upon  several 
times  afterward  on  matters  of  business. 

She  used  to  wear  at  this  period,  at  the  Stcinway  Hall 
meetings,  a  necklace  of  pearls  with  a  diamond  pendant, 
and  a  pair  of  diamond  ear-rings.  One  day  I  mentioned 
that  I  had  been  invited  to  a  dinner-party  the  next 
Sunday  evening.  On  the  Sunday  morning  her  servant 
came  with  a  little  box  and  a  note  from  her,  which 
she  had  been  expressly  ordered  to  give  into  my  own 
hands,  and  refused  to  intrust  to  my  servant.  I  went 
down  into  the  hall  to  receive  it,  and  the  servant  left 
before  I  had  time  to  read  the  note.     It  said,  — 

"  I  send  you  a  little  souvenir  of  mamma  and  myself, 
which  I  beg  you  will  wear  at  the  dinner." 

I  wrote  to  thank  her,  sa3'ing  I  would  wrear  the  jewels 
with  pleasure,  but  that  they  were  much  too  valuable 
for  me  to  accept  as  a  present,  and  would  be  returned 
to  her  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 

This  was  about  the  middle  of  August,  1^79.  She 
continued  her  interviews  with  Mr.  Morton,  of  which  I 
knew  more  than  I  might  have  done  otherwise  by  means 
of  a  curious  habit  she  had  of  almost  never  having  any 
money,  so  that  we  generally  had  to  pay  her  cab-fares. 

One  day  in  the  last  week  of  August,  at  the  end  of  a 
long  interview  with  Mr.  Morton,  I  was  sent  for  and 
went  to  his  study. 


72  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON 

"  I  have  sent  for  you,"  he  said,  "  to  read  to  you  a 
paper  I  have  been  preparing  at  the  request  of  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies."  And  he  proceeded  to  read  the  follow- 
ing deed  of  gift :  — 

To  Whomsoever  it  may  Concern. 

Upon  the  death  of  my  mother,  Anne  Heurtley  of  Hampton 
Court  House,  Hampton  Court,  County  of  Middlesex,  England, 
she  left  to  me,  Julia  Anne  Theodora  Hart-Davies,  her  daugh- 
ter, a  certain  quantity  of  jewelry  for  my  own  use  and  control. 
I  the  said  Julia  Anne  Theodora  Hart-Davies,  now  residing  in 
London,  in  consideration  of  the  love  I  bear  to  Susie  Willis 
Fletcher  of  Boston,  United  States,  America  (now  residing  in 
London),  and  for  the  many  kindnesses  shown  by  her  to 'me, 
and  for  other  good  and  sufficient  considerations,  hereby  give 
and  relinquish  to  the  said  Susie  Willis  Fletcher  the  said  jewels 
which  my  mother  gave  me,  for  her  own  separate  use  and  con- 
trol, and  have  made  this  writing:  first,  that  she  may  be  fully 
protected  in  the  possession  of  the  said  jewels;  secondly,  that 
I  have  made  the  gift  of  my  own  free  will;  and,  further,  to  say 
that  she  has  consented  to  accept  the  jewels,  only  upon  my 
earnest  request  and  solicitation,  and  upon  assurance  that  it  is 
my  earnest  wish  and  desire  she  should  do  so.  The  said  jewels 
were  very  dear  to  my  mother,  and  doubly  precious  to  me;  and 
I  have  made  the  above  disposition  of  them  in  full  conformity 
with  my  own  wishes,  setting  forth  my  reasons  for  so  doing, 
not  only  for  her  protection,  but  also  for  my  own;  and  that  at 
any  time,  now  or  in  the  future,  there  may  be  no  question  as  to 
the  right  of  the  said  Susie  Willis  Fletcher  to  the  within-named 
jewels  or  property;  the  said  gift  being  made  by  me  without 
any  reservation,  with  a  desire  she  may  wear  the  jewels  during 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   JEWELS.  73 

her  lifetime,  and  make  such  further  disposition  of  them  as  she 
may  think  proper.  Furthermore,  in  view  of  my  experience 
with  trustees  and  other  parties  since  the  death  of  my  mother, 
I  have  preferred  to  dispose  of  the  property  in  the  manner 
above  indicated  and  during  my  lifetime,  rather  than  it  should 
be  disposed  of  in  a  way  repugnant  to  my  own  nature  by  those 
who  might  obtain  possession  of  it  upon  my  decease,  or  by  dis- 
posing of  it  by  will,  as  I  might  have  done  but  for  this  gift  of 
conveyance.  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  seal  this  25th  day  of  August,  1879. 
(Signed) 

JULIET  ANNE  THEODORA  HART-DAVIES. 

Witness: 
Francis  Morton. 

I  listened  to  the  reading  of  this  document,  and  said, 
"It  is  very  kind;  but  I  think  Mrs.  Davies  will  get 
her  health,  and  live  to  wear  these  jewels  herself." 

With  characteristic  impulsiveness  she  knelt  at  my 
feet,  and  begged  me  to  accept  them.  She  said,  "I 
am  going  to  France.  I  feel  sure  I  shall  not  live  long, 
and  I  shall  be  happy  if  I  know  that  they  will  be  used 
as  I  wish  them  to  be." 

Mr.  Morton,  who  had  drawn  up  the  paper  at  her 
solicitation,  did  not  at  all  favor  the  project.  He  said, 
"I  see  a  serious  objection  to  your  receiving  these 
things.  You  are  known  as  Spiritualists  and  mediums, 
and  you  will  risk  a  prosecution  like  that  of  Home 
(alluding  to  the  chancery  case  of  Lyon  vs.  Home,  in 


74  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

which  the  well-known  medium  D.  D.  Home  was  or- 
dered to  restore  sixty  thousand  pounds  forced  upon 
him  by  a  rich  Jewish  widow-lady,  who,  after  receiving- 
back  the  uttermost  farthing  of  her  own  gifts,  kept  the 
rich  laces  which  had  been  the  property  of  Mr.  Home's 
deceased  wife) . 

u  Knowing  this  danger,"  Mr.  Morton  continued,  "I 
shall  refuse  to  witness  this  deed  until  she  has  sworn 
solemnly,  that  in  making  it  she  has  not  been  influ- 
enced by  spirits  or  mortals." 

She  rose  to  her  feet,  raised  her  hand,  and  said,  "  I 
solemnly  swear  that  I  have  not  been  influenced  by 
spirits  or  mortals."  The  document  was  then  signed 
and  witnessed. 

The  paper  was  then  given  to  me.  I  held  it  a  mo- 
ment in  my  hand,  and  said,  "  I  think  Mrs.  Davies  will 
recover  her  health,  and  live  a  long  time.  I  have  no 
objection  to  keep  these  things  for  her  if  she  desires 
it,  but  here  is  the  paper  (giving  it  to  Mr.  Morton). 
Do  you  keep  it,  so  that,  at  any  time  Mrs.  Davies 
wishes  it  to  be  destroyed,  you  can  bum  it."  Mr. 
Morton  took  the  paper ;  and  I  never  saw  it  again 
until  after  we  were  arrested  in  America  for  stealing 
these  jewels,  or  obtaining  them  by  -false  pretences, 
when  we  telegraphed  to  Mr.  Morton,  who  was  then  in 
Paris,  to  send  over  the  deed  of  gift. 

Four  days  afterward  I  received  the  following  letter 
from  Mrs.  Davies  :  — 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   JEWELS.  75 

Upper  Norwood,  Aug.  29,  1879. 
Deaeest  Mrs.  Fletcher, —  After  my  repeated  and  car- 
nest  solicitation,  you  have  very  kindly  and  generously  per- 
mitted me  to  send  my  jewels,  clothes,  boxes,  and  sundry  other 
articles,  etc.,  to  your  house,  where  you  have  undertaken  the 
charge  of  their  safe  keeping;  these  said  jewels,  clothes,  boxes, 
and  sundry  other  articles,  being  my  sole  and  absolute  property, 
and  free  from  claim  or  interference  from  my  husband,  or  any 
other  person.  I  am  aware  that  I  have  therefore  the  perfect 
right  to  deal  with  them  in  whatever  manner  I  may  think  tit. 
Dearest  friend,  out  of  gratitude  for  all  the  unselfish  and  ines- 
timable services  of  friendly  kindness  shown  by  you  and  your 
excellent  husband  repeatedly  towards  myself,  thereby  causing 
my  love  to  reap  daily  blessings,  I  wish  to  notify  you  that  it  is 
my  express  wish  and  ardent  desire  to  make  over  to  you,  as  a 
humble  and  free  gift  from  myself  to  yourself,  the  whole  of 
the  property  above  mentioned,  and  that  it  shall  henceforth 
become  by  right  of  gift  your  sole  and  absolute  property,  to 
have,  to  hold,  to  enjoy,  and  ultimately  to  bequeath  or  dispose 
of  as  you  shall  of  your  own  free  choice  deem  suitable.  These 
my  intentions  and  acts  I  have  purposely  thus  declared  upon 
paper  in  order  to  effectually  preclude  any  risk  of  future  hos- 
tile dispute  about  your  possession  or  right  to  the  said  property, 
and  as  a  guaranty,  moreover,  that  the  declaration  made  by 
me  to. yourself  is  purely  voluntary,  and  is  evolved  out  of  a 
spirit  of  the  deepest  affection  and  gratitude  towards  yourself 
and  your  husband, — you,  who  daily  labor  for  the  happiness 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  your  fellow-creatures.  May  God 
shower  over  your  two  lives  an  ever-increasing  meed  of  divine 
benediction!  Such  is  the  prayer  of  your  faithful  and  devoted 
friend. 

^Signed) 

JULIET  ANNE  THEODORA  HART-DAVIES. 


76  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

This  letter,  she  falsely  claimed  on  the  trial,  had 
had  been  written  partly  by  herself,  and  partly  drafted 
by  Mr.  Morton.  He  had  prepared  the  formal  body  of 
the  letter,  which  she  had  copied,  adding,  as  she  said, 
"the  head  and  tail." 


CHAPTER   XII. 

HOW  SHE   CAME  TO  LIVE   WITH  US,   AND  WENT  TO  TOURS. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  arranged  with  her  husband 
to  leave  their  residence  at  Upper  Norwood,  and  come  to 
London,  where  she  had  engaged  apartments  at  No.  2 
Vernon  Place,  Bloomsbury.  She  wished  to  pack  her 
wardrobe  herself,  but  was  too  ill  to  do  so,  and  tele- 
graphed to  me  to  come  and  see  that  it  was  properly 
done.  The  things  were  hastily  packed  together,  to  be 
assorted  afterward. 

They  came  to  live  in  Vernon  Place  in  September, 
1879.  Mrs.  Davies  was  ill ;  and  I  called  to  see  her, 
and  helped  to  settle  her  rooms.  She  came  to  Gordon 
Street  every  day,  and  had  her  magnetic  treatment 
from  Mr.  Fletcher,  always  staying  to  luncheon  or  din- 
ner, or  to  talk  with  me.  She  was  still  complaining  of 
her  husband,  who,  she  said,  had  grown  so  brutal,  that 
she  had  arranged  with  her  landlady  to  come  herself, 
instead  of  the  servant,  if  the  bell  was  rung  violently, 
as  he  constantly  came  home  intoxicated. 

From  the  first  she  had  wished  to  live  with  us  ;  her 

77 


78  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

chief  reason  being  that  Mr.  Fletcher  would  be  Dear 
to  assist  her  in  her  frequent 'and  sudden  attacks  of 
illness.  But  she  also  professed  to  take  great  interest 
in  Spiritualism.  In  July  these  intimations  of  a  desire 
to  live  with  us  had  become  more  frequent.  I  told  her 
that  I  was  too  much  occupied  to  give  her  the  attention 
she  required,  and  that  Mr.  Fletcher  needed  all  my 
care.  I  opposed  her  idea  of  coming  to  live  with  us, 
but  it  was  not  from  dislike.  I  was  really  fond  of  her. 
She  was  a  slender  blonde,  very  affectionate,  intelli- 
gent, and  with  many  talents.  She  had,  certainly, 
grave  faults  of  character  and  manners  ;  but  I  attrib- 
uted much  of  these  to  her  unhappy  conditions,  and 
a  state  of  nervous  disease.  I  pitied  her  very  much, 
and  pitied  her  faults  as  well  as  her  misfortunes. 

One  day  toward  the  last  of  September  she  came  in 
a  cab,  without  her  hat,  and  was  shown  into  the  draw- 
ing-room. The  servant  who  came  for  me  said  that 
Mrs.  Davies  was  so  ill  that  she  had  taken  her  a  cup 
of  eoffee.  When  I  went  to  her,  she  seemed  to  be  in  a 
fit  of  hysterics.  As  soon  as  she  could  speak,  she  said 
her  husband  had  got  worse  and  worse  until  there  had 
come  a  crisis.  He  had  beaten  her  frightfully.  She 
showed  me  her  discolored  wrists,  and  her  dress  almost 
torn  off  her.  She  said  he  had  threatened  to  kill  her, 
that  she  dared  not  go  *back  to  him,  and  she  begged 
that  she  might  stay  with  us,  if  only  for  a  few  clays. 


HOW    SHE    CAME   TO    LIVE   WITH    US.  79 

I  sent  for  Mr.  Fletcher  to  consult  with  hiin  about  it. 
He  said,  that,  if  she  were  in  clanger,  of  course  she 
could  remain,  and  tried  to  calm  her  excitement.  I 
thought  she  was  nervously  excited,  and  had  exagger- 
ated the  matter,  and  proposed  to  go  home  with  her. 
However,  she  staid  to  dinner,  and  seemed  much  better. 
The  servants  noticed  the  improvement ;  and  at  eleven 
o'clock  Mr.  Fletcher  went  home  with  her.  The  house 
was  perfectly  quiet,  and  her  husband  had  gone  to  bed. 
Mr.  Fletcher  talked  with  Mrs.  Mayo,  her  landlady, 
about  the  matter.  He  did  not  want  any  misunderstand- 
ings, and  thought,  that,  if  there  were  no  danger,  Mrs. 
Davies  had  better  stay  with  her  husband.  Mrs.  Mayo 
smiled  at  the  idea  of  danger.  Evidently  she  had  not 
taken  that  view  of  the  matter. 

In  about  three  days  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  came  again, 
and  with  another  fearful  story. 

"  Oh  !  what  do  you  think?  "  she  said.  "  Mr.  Hart- 
Davies  is  plotting  to  put  me  into  a  lunatic-asylum." 

"  Nonsense  !     Impossible  !  " 

"  No.     It  is  actually  true." 

Her  story,  told  in  her  excited  manner,  was,  that, 
several  weeks  before,  she  had  had  a  note  from  a  friend, 
warning  her  of  a  plot  to  secure  her  property.  That 
da}'  she  had  a  craving  for  some  lager-beer,  and  sent  a 
servant  to  a  public-house  to  get  some.  TVhen  the  ser- 
vant came  with  the  beer,  she  said  she  had  heard  Mr. 


80  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PEISON. 

Hart-Da  vies  talking  with  two  men  at  the  public-house 
about  her.  One  of  them  said,  "  How  had  we  better 
do  it?  Suppose  you  ask  her  to  take  a  drive,  and  send 
for  a  cab,  and  then" —  But  Mr.  Davies  said,  "I 
had  rather  not  be  seen  in  it.  You  must  manage  it 
yourselves." 

As  soon  as  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  heard  this  stor}7, 
she  came  at  once  to  tell  us.  She  would  never  go  back. 
If  she  could  not  stay  with  us,  she  would  go  to  a  hotel. 

Mr.  Fletcher  could  not  think  of  turning  her  out  of 
doors,  and  said  she  could  stay  with  us,  and  he  would 
send  word  to  her  landlady  in  Vernon  Place.  She  pre- 
ferred to  go  herself,  and  give  notice  that  she  was  leav- 
ing ;  and  Mr.  Fletcher  accompanied  her.  On  the  way 
she  told  him  that  she  must  soon  be  off  to  her  usual 
winter- residence  at  Tours.  He  advised  her  to  go  at 
once,  so  as  not  to  have  the  trouble  of  a  double  change, 
and  suggested  that  she  could  come  to  us  on  her  return 
in  the  spring,  if  she  still  wished  to  do  so. 

She  proposed  to  come  and  stay  with  us  all  day,  and 
go  to  Vernon  Place  to  sleep  ;  and  finally  it  was  so 
arranged. 

Talking  the  matter  over  with  my  husband,  I  remem- 
bered that  Mrs.  Davies  had  an  aunt.  Why  not  make 
her  a  visit?  Next  morning  I  went  to  her,  and  proposed 
this  as  better  for  her  own  sake.  She  said  she  hated 
her  aunt,  but  would  write  to  her.     The  answer  she  got 


HOW   SHE   CAME   TO   LIVE   WITH   US.  81 

was  not  very  gracious.  Her  aunt  would  not  receive  her. 
She  did  not  approve  of  her  conduct,  and  thought  her 
present  husband  was  much  too  indulgent.  She  might 
visit,  but  could  not  live  with  her ;  and  she  might  be 
obliged  to  reduce  her  allowance. 

Mrs.  Ilart-Davies  showed  us  this  letter.  I  advised 
her  to  go  to  her  aunt,  and  tell  her  all  the  circumstances. 
She  went,  and  then  wrote  us  the  most  urgent  letter, 
asking  us  to  allow  her  to  immediately  return. 

When  she  returned  from  this  visit  to  her  aunt,  we 
thought  it  necessary  to  give  her  the  protection  of  our 
home,  to  which  it  had  been  agreed  she  should  come  on 
her  return  from  France  ;  but  we  requested  her  to  send 
for  her  trustee,  the  Rev.  James  Burroughs,  vicar  of 
Hampton.  He  came  to  see  us,  and  we  told  him  the 
circumstances  which  had  compelled  her  to  seek  our 
protection.  Mrs.  Davies  said  to  him,  "  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fletcher  are  the  best  friends  I  have  in  this  world.  I 
have  given  them  all  my  little  belongings,  and  their 
house  is  henceforth  to  be  my  home." 

Whatever  Mr.  Burroughs  may  have  thought  of  this 
arrangement,  he  did  not  withhold  his  consent  to  it; 
and  so  it  was  settled. 

When,  in  the  course  of  my  trial,  I  went  to  see  Mr. 
Burroughs,  who  was  suffering  with  apoplexy,  at  Hamp- 
ton, he  said  to  me,  "Mrs.  Fletcher,  don't  give  your- 
self the  least  uneasiness.     My  testimony  will  set  this 


82  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

all  right ;  for  when  I  called  on  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  in 
September,  at  Vernon  Place,  your  photos  were  on  the 
mantel,  and  she  spoke  of  you  as  being  the  best  friends 
she  had  in  the  world.  She  said  you  moved  in  the  most 
fashionable  society,  and  she  gave  me  a  list  of  distin- 
guished and  royal  personages  who  were  among  your 
visitors.  She  said,  "I  am  going  to  do  every  thing  in 
my  power  in  order  to  live  with  them,  so  that  I  can  get 
into  the  society  I  like,  and  from  which  I  have  been 
debarred  by  the  character  and  habits  of  my  husband." 

"  I  fancied,"  continued  Mr.  Burroughs,  "  that,  from 
Juliet's  romancing  and  fault-finding  ways,  her  friends 
the  Fletchers  would  have  a  hard  time  of  it." 

This  Mr.  Burroughs  was  ready  to  testify  ;  and  this 
evidence,  like  so  much  beside,  constituting  the  real 
facts  of  the  case,  was  shut  out  by  the  determination 
of  my  counsel  to  call  no  witnesses. 

On  the.  1st  of  October  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  left  London 
for  Tours  ;  and  Mr.  Morton,  who  was  going  to  Paris, 
waited  over  two  days,  and  saw  her  across  the  Channel, 
and  on  the  train  going  to  Tours.  Her  condition  at 
this  time  no  doubt  made  some  escort  or  companionship 
desirable  ;  and  Mr.  Morton,  from  his  character,  and 
relations  to  all  of  us,  was  a  very  suitable  travelling- 
companion.  He  was  a  member  of  a  religious  and 
benevolent  society  whose  members  were  pledged  to  a 
special  fidelity  to  its  objects.     Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had 


HOW   SHE   CAME   TO   LIVE  WITH  US.  83 

been  accepted  as  a  member  of  this  society.  On  my 
trial  she  testified  that  we  had  also  formed  a  smaller 
society-group  of  three  persons,  consisting  of  Mr. 
Fletcher,  herself,  and  me,  constituting  a  "social 
trinity,"  in  which  she  represented  the  principle  of 
love  ;  Mr.  Fletcher,  that  of  wisdom  ;  and  I,  the  de- 
partment of  work.  Something  of  this  kind  may  have 
been  spoken  of,  but  I  think  the  whole  credit  of  the 
idea  belongs  properly  to  Mrs.  Ilart-Davies. 

On  her  arrival  at  Tours,  there  began  that  correspond- 
ence which  figured  so  largely  in  my  trial,  of  which  more 
than  seventy  letters  said  to  have  been  written  by  me 
were  read,  but  not  one  from  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  that 
would  have  explained  them.  Her  letters  to  us  had 
been  left  in  our  house,  22  Gordon  Street,  when  we 
went  to  America.  When  I  returned,  not  one  of  them 
could  be  found.  Though  urgently  demanded  by  Mr. 
Lewis,  my  solicitor,  as  necessary  to  my  defence,  they 
were  not  forthcoming.  When  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  went 
with  Mack  and  a  pretended  search-warrant,  and  ran- 
sacked our  house,  she  took  care  to  secure  all  her 
letters,  some  of  which  I  found,  with  others  addressed 
to  us,  and  a  quantity  of  my  property  besides,  among 
her  things  at  the  Bedford  Pantechnicon,  thirteen 
months  later. 

These  letters,  or  our  part  of  them,  which  constitut- 
ed, perhaps,  a  quarter  or  third  of  the  correspondence, 


84  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PEISOX. 

were  read  as  evidence  of  fraud  upon  the  trial,  and 
published  in  the  newspapers.  But  neither  judge,  jury, 
editors,  nor  the  public  seem  to  have  remembered,  that 
the  fraud,  if  one  had  been  perpetrated,  had  been  con- 
summated, the  deed  of  gift  executed,  the  confirmatory 
letter  written,  and  the  will  made,  before  one  of  these 
letters  had  been  written,  and  that  the  property  was  at 
that  time  in  our  keeping,  with  "  the  honorable  under- 
standing," as  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  testified  on  the  trial, 
that  it  was  to  be  given  back  to  her  whenever  it  should 
be  demanded. 

AVlry  should  we  have  written  letters  to  get  property 
which  was  already  in  our  keeping,  and  had  been  for- 
mally made  over  and  secured  to  us? 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

WE    GET   MORE,    NOT   TO    SAY    BETTER,    ACQUAINTED. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies's  letters  written  at  Tours,  if 
they  could  have  been  produced,  would  have  shown 
that  she  was  improving  in  health,  that  she  had  fre- 
quent communion  with  the  spirit  of  her  departed 
mother,  who  rejoiced  with  her  in  the  safe  disposition 
of  her  property,  and  that  she  expressed  the  most 
devoted  friendship  to  us  and  the  greatest  interest  in 
our  cause  and  work. 

She  came  from  Tours  to  Paris,  and  wrote,  beggiug 
Mr.  Fletcher  to  come  there  and  see  her.  I  thought 
the  change  and  rest  would  be  good  for  him,  and  wished 
him  to  go.  She  telegraphed  that  she  was  very  ill,  ajid 
that  her  doctor  said  the  illness  was  dangerous.  Mr. 
Fletcher  went  to  Paris,  being  absent  one  day  and 
night,  when  he  saw  and  talked  with  her,  and  took  such 
care  of  her  as  her  condition  seemed  to  require. 

This  visit  to  Paris,  of  which  more  was  made  at  the 
trial  than  was  needful,  was  in  January.  In  February 
I  was  ill  from  the  effects,  as  my  physician  thought,  of 

So 


86  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

too  severe  a  climate,  and  be  advised  me  to  go  to 
Rome.  I  prepared  to  go,  and  wrote  to  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies,  proposing  that  she  should  accompany  me.  She 
consented,  and  promised  to  meet  me  in  Paris  ;  but  she 
failed  to  do  so,  and  wrote  to  Mr.  Fletcher  that  her 
mamma  wished  her  to  return  to  London.  Mr.  Fletcher 
wrote  to  her  that  it  would  be  inconvenient ;  that  there 
were  only  the  servants  in  the  house  besides  himself, 
and  that  her  being  there  alone  with  him  during  my 
absence  would  not  be  a  proper  arrangement.  t  To  her 
repeated  proposals  he  made  the  same  answer,  saying 
that  the  house  would  be  prepared  for  her  reception  on 
the  3d  of  May. 

I  have  mentioned  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  intro- 
duced to  us  an  old  friend  of  hers,  Capt.  Lindmark. 
On  the  30th  of  March,  though  far  from  being  a  Spirit- 
ualist,—  being,  in  fact,  a  scientific  materialist  of  very 
decided  views,  —  he  came  to  the  anniversary  meeting 
(the  Anniversary  of  the  Origin  of  Modern  Spiritualism 
in  America)  at  Steinway  Hall,  and  afterward  called 
upon  us  at  Gordon  Street.  We  spoke  to  him  of  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  and  of  the  arrangements  that  had  been 
made  for  her  residence  with  us,  and  showed  him  her 
things  in  the  house. 

He  did  not  seem  very  much  pleased  at  the  informa- 
tion. "  Are  you  certain  you  will  be  happy  with  her?  " 
he  asked.     "  A  woman  who  has  quarrelled  with  two 


WE   GET   MORE   ACQUAINTED.  87 

husbands,  who  has  been  divorced  from  one,  and  has 
separated  from  another,  may  not  be  more  fortunate 
with  you."  As  a  gentleman,  and  one  as  yet  but 
slightly  acquainted  with  us,  he  was  not  in  a  position 
to  interfere  ;  but  it  was  easy  to  see,  that  for  some 
reason  he  did  not  quite  approve  of  the  arrangement. 

When  the  1st  of  May  was  at  hand,  and  Mr.  Fletcher 
had  promised  to  go  to  Paris  for  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  he 
was  unwell,  and  not  in  a  condition  to  make  such  a 
journey.  I  therefore  offered  to  meet  her  at  Dover, 
where  she  would  most  need  me,  coming  from  a  possi- 
bly rough  passage  across  the  Channel ;  and  Capt. 
Lindmark,  as  an  old  acquaintance  of  our  coming  guest 
and  our  adopted  sister,  kindly  offered  to  bear  me 
company. 

I  wrote  of  all  this  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  told 
her  we  should  meet  her  at  the  Lord  Warden  Hotel, 
and  that  Capt.  Lindmark  would  receive  her  upon  her 
landing,  and  make  all  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
her  at  the  hotel. 

The  boat  came  in,  but  no  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  :  so  we 
waited  for  the  night  boat,  and  I  engaged  a  porter  and 
chambermaid  to  meet  her,  and  had  a  warm  room  ready 
for  her  reception.  She  did  not  come.  On  inquiry, 
we  found  that  the  boat  had  landed  at  another  pier ; 
and  at  eleven  o'clock  we  got  a  telegram  from  Mr. 
Fletcher  to   tell  us  that  the   unhappy  and  neglected 


88  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PEISOX. 

woman  had  landed  alone,  and  was  staying  in  a  cold 
room.  A\re  found  her  at  last,  and  she  went  home  with 
us  ;  but,  such  is  her  fault-finding  and  malicious  temper, 
she  has  probably  never  forgiven  what  she  considered 
our  neglect  when  we  thought  we  had  made  every  pro- 
vision for  her  comfort. 

We  arranged  as  well  as  we  could,  however,  to  make 
her  the  pet  child  of  the  family.  She  had  many  amia- 
ble qualities.  She  was  conversable,  affectionate  to 
excess,  wrote  with  facility  in  verse  as  well  as  in  prose, 
and  had  a  considerable  talent  for  drawing,  as  was 
shown  by  her  questionable  sketches  which  so  inter- 
ested Mr.  Flowers,  the  Bond-street  magistrate,  and 
Sir  Harvey  Hawkins,  at  the  Central  Criminal  Court. 

But  amiable,  kind, '  generous  as  she  could  be  and 
had  been,  she  had  not  been  an  inmate  of  our  f amity  a 
week,  before  she  showed  very  different  and  less  desira- 
ble qualities.  She  became  exorbitant  in  her  demands, 
and  extremely  irritable  in  her  temper,  requiring  every 
thing  in  the  house  to  be  changed  to  suit  her.  She 
increased  the  work  of  the  servants  by  tardiness  and 
disorderly  habits, — coming  to  lunch  in  a  morning- 
dress,  and  the  same  at  five-o'clock  tea,  which,  in  a 
house  where  there  were  guests  at  almost  every  meal, 
was  inconvenient,  and  scarcely  respectful.  She  gave 
no  assistance  in  our  work.  The  servants  could  not  en- 
dure her  temper,  and  gave  notice  to  quit?     She  did  not 


WE    GET   MORE   ACQUAINTED.  89 

receive  as  much  attention  as  she  desired  from  our 
visitors,  and  seemed  very  jealous  of  any  attention 
that  was  paid  to  me.  In  fact,  she  seemed  to  think  or 
feel,  that,  whenever  we  had  company,  it  was  her  right 
to  be  the  object  of  exclusive  attention,  and  that  she 
was  defrauded  if  any  notice  wras  taken  of  any  other 
person. 

In  a  few  weeks  she  showed  great  jealousy  of  Capt. 
Landmark.  Any  kindness  or  gentlemanly  attention  he 
showed  to  me  was  deeply  resented  ;  and  she  showed 
so  much  irritation,  and  he  so  much  indifference,  for 
one  whose  manners  toward  ladies  were  generally  so 
admirable,  that  when  I  had  observed  them  a  short  time 
I  suspected  a  previous  intimacy.  One  day  toward  the 
end  of  June,  as  I  was  coming  into  the  drawing-room, 
I  heard  Capt.  Lindmark  say,  "That's  absolutely  hor- 
rible.    Certainly  it  cannot  be." 

Capt.  Lindmark  is  a  gentleman  of  great  self-posses- 
sion, but  he  was  evidently  shocked  and  angry.  He  is 
an  accomplished  linguist ;  but  his  English  is  of  course 
marked  with  a  slight  foreign  accent,  which  makes  it 
more  emphatic.  To  my  husband  and  myself,  who  were 
entering,  he  said,  "Mr.  Fletcher  and  Mrs.  Fletcher,  I 
must  tell  you  something  before  I  can  ever  visit  you 
again."  Then,  turning  to  Mrs.  Ilart-Davies,  he  said, 
"  Shall  I  tell  them,  or  will  you?  We  have  no  right  to 
be  here  together  until  they  understand." 


90  TWELVE    MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

"I  prefer  to  tell  them  nryself,"  she  answered,  and 
immediately  left  the  room  with  Mr.  Fletcher.  They 
were  absent  for  two  hours.  She  then  came  and  took 
me  out,  and  made  her  confession.  It  was  in  general 
what  I  had  suspected.  I  heard  now,  for  the  first 
time,  some  details  of  her  past  life,  —  the  cause,  of 
her  divorce  from  her  first  husband,  her  meeting 
Capt.  Landmark  in  South  America,  her  wild  and  ir- 
repressible passion  for  him,  —  the  whole  story,  the 
old  story  (reversed,  for  the  entreaties  were  hers), 
needless  to  dwell  upon  or  repeat.  It  was  told  with 
many  sobs  and  tears.  It  was,  she  declared,  the  one 
error  of  her  life,  for  which,  she  also  declared,  she  was 
truly  penitent. 

I  had  no  right  to  judge  the  poor  woman,  and  no 
desire  to  act  harshly  toward  her,  or  punish  her  in  any 
way.  I  had  taken  her  into  my  home  because  she  was 
in  trouble.  If  she  were  more  guilty  than  I  supposed, 
she  so  much  the  more  needed  kindness.  I  was  sorry 
that  she  had  come  under  false  colors  as  a  chaste  and 
ill-used  wife.  I  forgave  her,  but  Mr.  Fletcher  did  not. 
He  said  she  had  come  to  us  under  false  pretences,  and 
that  we  had  a  right  to  know  the  extent  of  our  respon- 
sibilities. Still  he  yielded  to  my  wishes,  and  treated 
her  with  politeness,  but  never  with  the  same  cordiality 
as  before.  He  was  the  same  as  formerly  in  company, 
but  not  the  same  in  private.     I  wished  to  treat  her  as 


WE   GET   MORE   ACQUAINTED.  91 

a  sister,  as  I  think  one  woman  ought  to  treat  another. 
Nor  can  I  understand  why  women  should  be  more 
unforgiving  to  each  other  than  they  are  to  men. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

OUR   EXCURSION   TO    AMERICA. 

We  had  planned  to  make  an  excursion  to  America 
for  our  summer-holiday,  and  we  forgot  our  troubles  in 
the  preparations  for  the  voyage  and  in  the  visits  we 
proposed  to  make.  We  spent  some  weeks  in  dress- 
making and  arranging  our  wardrobe,  making  up  the 
new  materials  and  trimmings  which  I  purchased,  and 
altering  the  old  dresses  which  she  had  inherited,  and 
which  were  now  considered  our  common  property. 
All  was  finished  and  packed  up"  for  the  voj^age  ;  the 
dresses  for  both  of  us  being,  in  some  instances,  in 
the  same  box. 

Capt.  Lindmark,  who  wished  to  inspect  some  gov- 
ernment works  and  manufacturing  establishments  in 
America,  proposed  to  join  our  party,  as  also  did  one 
of  our  frequent  guests,  Miss  Spencer. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  did  not  like  this  arrangement. 
The  presence  of  Capt  Lindmark  embarrassed  her ;  and 
she  was  jealous  of  the  attentions  paid  to  Miss  Spen- 
cer,—  not  that  they  were  in  the  least  exclusive,  for  our 
92 


OUR    EXCURSION   TO    AMERICA.  93 

two  gentlemen  scrupulously  divided  their  attentions 
between  us  three  ladies,  I  as  the  wife  getting  of  course 
rather  less  than  an  equal  share. 

It  was,  however,  a  mathematical  difficulty  to  divide 
two  gentlemen  among  three  ladies ;  and  we  could  not 
avoid  some  vulgar  fractions.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  be- 
tween Mr.  Fletcher's  brotherly  coolness  and  Capt. 
Landmark's  dead  ashes,  with  her  natural  tendency  to 
jealous}7,  grew  more  and  more  fault-finding  and  dis- 
agreeable as  the  day  of  our  departure  approached. 

AVe  sailed  for  New  York,  July  29,  1879.  On  the 
steamer,  where  we  were  made  as  comfortable  as  people 
who  are  not  good  sailors  can  be  at  sea,  our  poor  sister's 
bad  temper  was  naturally  aggravated.  She  had  no  one 
to  rule,  and  she  got  no  attention.  No  doubt  it  seemed 
so  to  her:  for  she  would  say  at  table,  "Nobody  will 
come  for  me  ;  but,  if  Mrs.  Fletcher  is  absent,  every- 
body wants  to  tear  after  her." 

Among  our  fellow-passengers  was  a  young  and  tal- 
ented clerg3Tman,  returning  to  America  from  a  tour 
for  health  in  Europe.  He  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
seemed  much  attracted  to  each  other,  and  got  up  a 
rather  pronounced  flirtation,  seeking  out  retired  places 
on  deck  for  tdte-ii-tties,  and  being  discovered  later  at 
night  than  the  regulations  allowed  behind  the  wheel- 
house.  This  made  some  scandal ;  and  Capt.  Land- 
mark, with  what  may  seem  a  cruel  frankness,  told  her 


94  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON.     . 

she  was  disgracing  our  party.  Probably,  from  the  fact 
that  he  had  become  acquainted  with  us  through  her 
introduction,  and  from  his  past  relations  to  her,  he  felt 
more  strongly  than  was  necessary  a  certain  responsi- 
bility for  her  conduct. 

She  very  emphatically  resented  his  interference ; 
and,  when  Mr.  Fletcher  told  her  that  one  of  the  ship's 
officers  had  told  him  it  was  against  the  rules  for  pas- 
sengers to  be  on  deck  after  eleven  o'clock,  the  breeze 
became  a  storm.  She  complained  that  Mr.  Fletcher 
had  neglected  her,  and  declared  that  the  minister  had 
proposed  to  marry  her.  To  this  it  might  have  been 
objected,  that  the  clergyman  was  reported  to  be  else- 
where engaged,  and  that  she  had  already  two  living 
husbands,  from  only  one  of  whom  she  had  as  yet 
been  divorced. 

I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  enter  into  these  petty 
and  scandalous  details  ;  but  I  do  not  see  how  I  can 
avoid  it,  and  yet  give  the  reader  a  clear  understanding 
of  my  story. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

NEW   YORK,    BOSTON,    CAMP-MEETING,   DR.    MACK,    AND 
SIGNOR   RONDI. 

Head-winds  made  our  trip  to  New  York  two  days 
longer  than  we  expected.  Mr.  Colby,  editor  of  the 
"  Banner  of  Light,"  had  written  to  us  that  the  Boston 
Spiritualists  had  arranged  to  give  us  a  public  reception 
on  the  9th  of  August,  and  that  Mr.  Fletcher  had  been 
announced  to  speak  at  the  Lake  Pleasant  Camp-Meet- 
ing on  the  11th.  I  meant  to  take  the  first  train  after 
landing  to  visit  my  father  and  mother  in  Lawrence, 
Mass. 

"We  arrived  in  New  York  on  the  10th,  too  late  for 
our  reception  at  Boston  (which,  on  the  non-arrival  of 
the  steamer,  had  been  postponed),  and  just  in  time 
to  take  our  respective  trains, — I  to  Boston,  Mr. 
Fletcher  to  the  camp-meeting. 

After  reaching  Boston,  being  quite  at  home  where 
I  had  lived  so  long,  I  went  at  once  to  the  office  of  the 
"Banner  of  Light"  for  letters,  and  to  shake  hands 
with  my  old  friends,  Mr.  Colby  and   Mr.  Rich,   and 

95 


96  TWELVE   MONTHS   IX  PRISON. 

found  that  our  reception  was  appointed  for  three 
o'clock  that  afternoon.  The  medium  who  gave  regu- 
lar seances  at  the  "Banner"  office  had  told  them  of 
our  detention,  and  that  we  should  arrive  on  the  10th. 
They  had  tried  to  telegraph  to  us  the  altered  arrange- 
ments, but  without  success.  I  at  once  telegraphed  to 
my  mother  and  sister  to  come  to  me  at  the  Parker 
House  ;  and  they  went  with  me  to  the  reception,  where 
I  had  the  happiness  of  being  warmly  welcomed  by 
many  old  friends.  Then  I  went  home  with  mother 
and  sister,  aud  was  once  more  in  my  dear  father's 
arms,  and  the  next  day  took  the  train  to  join  my 
husband  at  Lake  Pleasant. 

Cn  my  arrival,  loaded  with  the  flowers  given  me  at 
the  reception  and  with  many  sent  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  as 
I  walked  up  the  veranda  of  the  hotel,  I  saw  sitting 
there  Dr.  Mack  and  his  friend  Signor  Rondi.  Dr. 
Mack  arose,  and  bowed  to  me. 

I  did  not  return  his  salutation  ;  because  I  would  not 
be  a  hypocrite,  and  I  knew  he  was  my  enemy.  I  do 
not  know  the  reasons  for  his  animosit}T.  On  coming 
to  England  as  a  mesmeric  or  Spiritualist  healer,  he 
took  rooms  in  Southampton  Row,  near  the  office  of 
the  "Medium  and  Daybreak,"  a  Spiritualist  paper 
edited  and  published  by  Mr.  James  Burns.  Mr. 
Burns,  for  some  reason  unknown  to  me,  had  been 
opposed  to  Mr.  Fletcher  and  myself.     It  is  difficult 


NEW    YORK,    BOSTON,    CAMP-MEETING.  97 

to  account  for  the  animosity  of  persons  engaged  in 
the  same  profession,  or  enlisted  in  the  same  cause. 
There  is  a  world-old  proverb,  "Two  of  a  trade  can 
never  agree."  It  is  notorious  that  mediums  are  often 
jealous  of  each  other,  as  physicians,  lawyers,  possibly 
clergymen,  may  be  ;  as  actors  and  singers  and  rival 
beauties  are  ;  and  as  nobody  in  the  world,  and,  least 
of  all,  Christians  and  Spiritualists,  ever  should  be. 

However  it  was,  Mr.  Burns  did  not  like  us  ;  and 
Mr.  James  McGeary,  now  known  as  Dr.  Mack,  had 
an  evident  interest  in  being  in  the  good  graces  of  Mr. 
Burns,  who,  as  able  editor,  and  powerful  champion  of 
Spiritualism,  could  render  him  important  service.  Mr. 
Burns  said  I  was  the  champion  of  Mrs.  Woodhull  and 
of  "Free  Love,"  which  he  had  a  mission  to  trample 
out;  and,  though  Mr.  Burns  knew  that  Dr.  Mack's 
own  life  was  not  without  stain,  he  seems  to  have  lis- 
tened to  his  stories  about  me.  Mr.  Fletcher,  meeting 
Mack  at  Doughty  Hall,  demanded  an  apology  and  re- 
traction of  all  his  scandalous  tales  about  us,  which 
Mack  made  ;  but  he  kept  up  his  slanders,  and  we  had 
no  further  intercourse. 

I  regret  that  it  is  necessary  to  speak  of  either 
Dr.  Mack  or  Signor  Rondi,  and  I  shall  say  as  little 
as  possible  of  either.  Signor  Rondi  is  an  Italian  artist 
of  considerable  merit:  as  a  "red"  revolutionist,  he 
served   under  Garibaldi,  of  whom  he  has  painted  an 


98  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

excellent  portrait.  Being  a  Spiritualist,  with  some 
gifts  as  a  professed  medium,  he  got  acquainted  with 
Dr.  Mack.  Signor  Rondi  is  a  little  man,  and  Mack 
a  very  big  one  ;  and  such  opposites  often  attract  each 
other.  On  Mr.  Fletcher's  arrival  in  London,  Signor 
Rondi  had  some  seances  with  him,  and  got  remarkable 
tests.  They  liked  each  other,  and  Signor  Rondi  was 
very  useful  to  him.  This  friendship  continued  until  my 
arrival  in  London,  in  July,  1876.  Of  course  Signor 
Rondi  was  soon  presented  to  me,  and  we  became 
very  friendly.  For  three  years  he  was  a  constant 
visitor  at  our  house,  and  almost  an  inmate ;  for  he 
came  in  frequently  to  supper,  and  always  staid  late, 
his  own  rooms  being  very  near  us.  I  find  it  hard  to 
understand  the  loss  of  Signor  Rondi's  friendship,  and 
the  hostility  he  afterward  manifested,  his  jealousy,  his 
revenge,  and  his  joining  with  Dr.  Mack  to  charge  us 
with  fraud,  and  bring  about  my  imprisonment.  Mack 
was  wicked  ;  poor  Rondi  was  weak. 

Signor  Rondi  knew  all  about  our  quarrel  with  Dr. 
Mack.  He  wanted  to  go  with  us  to  America,  and,  be- 
cause he  could  not  join  our  party,  was  naturally  a  little 
unhappy.  He  wrote  from  Liverpool,  giving  us  notice 
that  he  was  going  with  Dr.  Mack  ;  and  they  preceded 
us  by  a  week.  On  their  arrival  at  the  Lake  Pleasant 
Hotel,  after  inquiring  of  the  landlord,  they  secured 
rooms  commanding  a  view  of  those  we  had  taken  by 
cable,  and  were  ready  for  us  when  we  came. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

WHAT   HAPPENED    AT   THE    CAMP-MEETING. 

Dr.  Mack  was  acquainted  with  Miss  Spencer  pro- 
fessionally, and  soon  after  our  arrival  she  introduced 
him  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies.  Possibly  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
hoped  to  be  benefited  by  his  magnetic  powers  ;  but  it 
was  not  in  very  good  taste,  to  say  the  least,  for  her  to 
be  seen  walking  and  talking  with  one  whom  she  knew 
to  be  our  enemy.  We  all  noticed  a  change  in  her 
manner  to  us.  From  being  merely  irritable  and  rude, 
as  she  often  had  been,  she  became  insulting  and  vio- 
lent. 

Through  Dr.  Mack,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  soon  got  ac- 
quainted with  a  clairvoyant  medium  and  her  husband 
from  Saratoga.  They  had  introduced  themselves  to 
us,  and  invited  us  to  visit  them.  AVe  were  too  fully 
occupied  to  see  much  of  them,  which  occasioned  us 
but  little  regret  after  we  learned  of  their  real  character 
and  standing.  But  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  a  good  deal 
with  them  ;  and  they  seemed  to  have  so  bad  an  influence 
over  her,-  that  I  spoke  to  her  about  it,  and  also  of  her 


100  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PEISON. 

intimacies  with  persons  whom  she  knew  to  be  our 
enemies.  It  made  no  difference  in  her  conduct.  She 
spent  much  of  her  time  with  Rondi  and  Mack,  and 
these  unworthy  people. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  while  writing  at  an  open 
window  in  the  corridor  (and  all  windows  are  open 
in  the  warmth  of  an  American  August) ,  I  could  not 
avoid  hearing  the  peculiar  voice  and  Italian  English  of 
Signor  Rondi,  who  was  holding  a  seance  in  his  room 
with  Mrs.  Hart-Davies.  Speaking  as  if  under  the 
control  of  some  spirit,  Signor  Rondi  was  sa3"ing,  — 

"  So  far  as  Mr.  Fletcher  is  concerned,  he  has  in 
London  a  hundred  sweethearts.  You  need  not  think 
he  cares  for  you.  He  only  cares  for  what  he  can 
make." 

As  this  communication  was  evidently  not  intended 
for  me,  I  went  back  to  my  room.  An  hour  later  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  came  to  me  in  a  state  of  violent  agitation, 
and  said,  — 

"  What  would  you  do  if  a  reliable  clairvoyant  were 
to  tell  you  that  your  husband  had  been  unfaithful?  I 
have  been  told,"  she  persisted,  "by  a  most  reliable 
medium,  that  Mr.  Fletcher  is  very  unfaithful ;  and  it 
drives  me  mad  to  think  that  my  brother,  whom  I 
thought  so  pure  and  good,  is  not  to  be  trusted." 

I  did  not  care  to  enter  into  the  subject,  and  tried  to 
soothe  her  irritation.     "If  any  person  should  tell  me 


WHAT   HAPPENED   AT   THE   CAMP-MEETING.      101 

such  a  thing,"  I  said,  "  I  should  consider  him  unde- 
veloped, or  in  some  way  gone  wrong;  and,  if  a  spirit 
said  so,  I  should  think  it  an  undeveloped,  and  therefore 
evil  spirit.  If  you  listen  to  such  things,  and  are  influ- 
enced by  them,  what  can  we  expect  of  the  world  about 
him?  We  who  knew  him  ought  and  do  know  that  such 
talk  is  utterly  absurd." 

She  seemed  for  the  moment  to  feel  better  about  it, 
but  soon  went  to  the  Saratoga  medium,  and  had  a 
seance  with  her.  I  accidentally  saw  them  sitting  at 
a  table;  and  Capt,  Lindmark  also  noticed  it,  and  re- 
marked that  it  meant  mischief. 

"I  ought  to  speak  to  you  candidly  about  Juliet," 
he  said,  "even  at  the  risk  of  offending  you.  I  have 
observed  her  conduct  here,  and  spoke  to  her  about  it 
yesterday.  But  first  let  me  ask,  Has  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
made  a  will  in  your  favor?  " 

"  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  no." 
"Then  I  will  tell  you  what  she  said.  She  told  me 
yesterday  that  she  hated  and  despised  you.  It  was 
you  who  prevented  my  return  to  her,  and  it  was  you 
who  prevented  Mr.  Fletcher  from  paying  her  the  atten- 
tion she  had  a  right  to  expect  from  him.  She  said 
she  had  given  you  all  her  property,  and  had  made  a 
will  in  your  favor;  but  that  did  not  amount  to  any 
thing,  for  the  papers  were  at  her  disposal,  and  she 
could  tear  them  up  in  five  minutes.     And  raising  her 


102  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

hand,  and  clinching  her  fist,  she  said,  '  I  will  have  my 
revenge  upon  her !  '  " 

"I  don't  attach  any  importance  to  her  threats,"  I 
replied. 

Still,  I  had  some  anxiety,  though  not  for  myself  ;  for 
her  conduct  was  spoiling  Mr.  Fletcher's  holiday.  But 
I  could  not  see  that  there  was  any  thing  to  be  done, 
and  said  I  thought  we  had  better  let  it  rest. 

"  No  !  "  said  Capt.  Lindmark.  "  Take  my  advice, 
and  send  that  woman  back  to  London,  or  she  will 
certainly  cause  some  disaster.  She  has  been  the  ruin 
of  every  one  she  was  ever  connected  with." 

Mr.  Fletcher  joined  us.  Capt.  Lindmark  continued 
the  conversation.  He  said,  "I  want  to  speak  to  you 
plainly,  Mr»  Fletcher.  This  woman  is  unhappy,  and 
she  is  bent  on  mischief." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Fletcher,  "what  can  she  do  be- 
yond making  us  uncomfortable?  That  we  are  bound 
to  bear  as  well  as  we  can.  When  we  return  to  Lon- 
don, she  must  take  her  property,  and  make  a  home 
for  herself.  The  influence  she  has  over  our  son  is 
such,  that  we  had  decided  before  leaving  London, 
were  there  no  other  reason,  she  could  not  live  longer 
with  us." 

Our  son  Alvah,  then  fourteen  years  old,  was  in  the 
university  school,  which  was  quite  near  our  home,  and 
getting  on  very  well  with  his  studies ;  but  the  table- 


WHAT   HAPPENED    AT   THE   CAMP-MEETING.      103 

talk  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  so  far  from  edifying, 
that  I  was  more  than  once  obliged  to  ask  him  to  leave 
the  table,  and  finish  his  dinner  elsewhere.  She  had  a 
way  of  talking  of  things,  and  using  expressions,  that 
no  child  should  hear.  No  doubt  this  was  attributable 
to  a  morbid  condition,  a  kind  of  mania  well  known 
to  physicians,  difficult  to  manage,  and  more  difficult  to 
cure.  When  I  sent  my  boy  away  from  the  table  to 
save  him  from  such  "  evil  communications"  as  I  feared 
might  "corrupt  good  manners,"  she  was  very  angry, 
and  said,  "  Boys  of  his  age  should  learn  such  things." 
But  to  resume. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  Alvah  came  to  me,  and  said, 
"Aunty  (as  he  called  Mrs.  Hart-Davies)  wants  papa." 

"He  is  somewhere  about  the  grounds,"  I  said.  She 
came  out  upon  the  veranda,  and  said  she  wanted  to 
see  Mr.  Fletcher  about  going  to  Saratoga.  He  was 
the  treasurer  of  the  party,  and  she  would  require  some 
money  for  her  fare  and  expenses.  I  saw  Mr.  Fletcher 
approaching,  and  left  them  together.  In  a  little  while 
he  came  to  me,  and  said,  — 

"Juliet  tells  me  she  is  going  to  make  a  visit  to 
Saratoga,  and  would  like  to  take  mamma's  jewels  with 
her.  She  has  been  told  that  their  influence  will  be 
good  for  her." 

"  Well,  there  is  no  reason  why  she  should  not  have 
them.  Does  she  want  those  that  are  in  the  bank  as 
well?" 


104  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN    PIUSON. 

All  the  most  valuable  of  her  jewels  had  been  depos- 
ited in  a  bank  on  our  arrival  at  Boston,  as  hotel-rooms 
are  sometimes  robbed  in  America,  as  elsewhere. 

4 'Don't  know,"  he  answered.  "I  told  her  you 
would  see  that  she  had  whatever  she  wanted." 

After  lunch  I  went  to  her  room,  and  said,  "Willie 
tells  me  you  are  going  awa}T,  and  want  mamma's  jew- 
els. Do  you  want  all  of  them,  —  those  deposited  in 
the  bank  at  Boston?  And  when  do  you  intend  to 
go?" 

"  To-morrow  morning,  at  half-past  ten." 

"  Well,  that  can  be  easily  arranged,"  I  said.  "  We 
can  telegraph  to  the  bank  for  the  box,  and  it  will  come 
by  the  night-train." 

"  I  think  I  would  like  to  take  them  all,"  she  said. 
"  Besides,  I  want  to  tell  you  that  I  have  been  dis- 
turbed and  uncomfortable ;  and  I  think  it  will  be 
better  for  me  to  go  away  for  a  week." 

"  I  have  noticed  for  several  days,"  I  replied,  "  that 
you  were  not  like  yourself ;  and  it  seems  a  pity,  for  it 
destroys  your  comfort  and  ours.  You  know  how  hard 
Mr.  Fletcher  has  worked,  and  how  much  need  he  has 
of  peace  and  rest.  It  does  seem  a  little  cruel  that  you 
or  I  should  do  any  thing  to  destroy  his  happiness,  and 
deprive  him  of  the  rest  he  so  much  needs." 

"Nobody  but  you  ever  called  me  bad-tempered," 
she  answered.     "  Everybody  else  has  liked  my  pretty, 


WHAT   HAPPENED   AT   THE  CAMP-MEETIXG.      105 

dainty  ways.  Besides,  I  may  as  well  be  frank  with 
you.  I  will  no  longer  remain  with  tins  party  if  Capt. 
Lindmark  is  to  stay  in  it.  He  treats  you  always  with 
marked  respect,  and  me  with  marked  indifference ; 
and  it  is  mortifying  and  humiliating.  If  he  don't  leave 
the  party,  I  shall." 

I  tried  to  quiet  her.  "  It  is  only  for  a  few  weeks," 
I  said.  "I  can  understand  how  you  feel.  But  you 
should  have  thought  of  it  before  we  left  England." 

AVe  talked  for  two  hours,  and  she  seemed  more  rea- 
sonable. In  the  course  of  our  conversation  I  told  her 
I  thought  Dr.  Mack  was  not  such  a  man  as  she  should 
associate  with,  and  that  I  thought  he  had  a  bad  influ- 
ence upon  her. 

She  replied  that  she  had  had  frequent  seances  with 
Signor  Eondi  and  others,  and  that  her  mamma  said 
she  ought  to  be  with  Dr.  Mack  ;  that  his  magnetism 
was  good  for  her,  and  that  he  would  be  her  friend. 

"  Very  well,"  I  said  :  "I  have  nothing  more  to  say.- 
If  these  communications  are  agreeable  to  your  sense 
of  right,  you  must  act  accordingly." 

At  the  end  of  our  conversation,  when  I  had  risen  to 
go,  she  said,  "  Bertie,  don't  send  for  those  jewels  until 
I  see  you  again." 

;;  Very  well.  Any  time  before  seven  o'clock  will  be 
in  season  for  the  night-train." 

At  the  table  d'hdte,  at  six  o'clock,  she  seemed  in 


106  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

better  spirits  than  at  an}'  time  since  our  arrival.  Com- 
ing up  to  the  back  of  my  chair,  she  put  her  arms 
round  me,  and  said,  "  Bertie  dear,  I  have  decided 
not  to  take  the  jewels;  and,  if  you  are  disengaged 
after  dinner,  I  should  like  to  have  a  little  chat  with 
you." 

There  was  to  be  a  concert  that  evening,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  one  of  the  mediums  at  the  camp-meeting,  at 
which  I  had  promised  to  sing.  Miss  Spencer,  who 
was  going  with  me,  had  lost  a  brother  the  year  before ; 
and  this  was  the  anniversary  of  his  death.  She  in- 
tended to  wear  a  dress  of  silver  blue,  his  favorite  color, 
in  his  honor ;  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  intended  to  wear 
the  same,  and  proposed  that  I  should  join  them.  I 
had  intended  to  dress,  as  usual,  in  black,  but  willingly 
consented  to  wear  the  blue  for  the  occasion,  if  I  could 
find  the  right  shade.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  volunteered 
to  assist  me,  found  the  dress,  and  laid  out  the  jewels 
to  match. 

The  concert  was  a  great  success.  We  all  enjoyed 
it,  and  took  home  with  us  a  party  of  friends,  who 
staid  late.  I  hoped  for  better  times.  Going  from  our 
cottage  to  the  hotel,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  said,  — 

"  Bertie  dear,  do  you  think  our  jewels  are  safe  here? 
I  fancy  I  have  lost  things  from  my  room.  Wouldn't 
it  be  better  to  send  all  of  them  to  the  bank?  " 

I  readily  assented  to  this  prudent  arrangement.     "  It 


WHAT   HAPPENED   AT   THE   CAMP-MEETING.      107 

can  easily  be  managed,"  I  said.  "  Mr.  Fletcher  will 
take  Alvah  to  Boston  to-morrow,  and  can  deposit  all 
the  jewels  at  the  same  time.  This  was  on  the  17th  of 
August.  We  said  good-night ;  and  next  Monday,  on 
the  18th,  Mr.  Fletcher  took  the  jewels  to  Boston,  de- 
posited them  at  her  suggestion,  and  returned  at  nine 
o'clock  the  same  evening. 

The  following  morning  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  complained 
of  a  violent  headache,  and  said,  "  I  don't  feel  able  to 
travel,  and  I  think  I  shall  not  go  to  Saratoga." 

I  said,  uIam  very  glad  you  have  decided  to  remain  ; 
for  I  think  it  would  be  very  unwise  for  you  to  go  off 
with  people  you  have  only  known  a  week.  They  know 
nothing  of  you,  nor  you  of  them." 

"  They  know,  at  least,  that  I  am  a  lady." 

"  Unfortunately  they  do  not.  They  may  know  that 
you  have  the  manners  of  a  lady.  They  can  only  judge 
of  you  as  you  can  of  them.  But,  aside  from  that,  it 
seems  to  me  a  surprising  arrangement." 

After  breakfast  she  went  to  her  room,  and  sent  for 
me  to  come  to  her.  She  had  seen  her  friend  Home, 
the  new  medium,  she  said,  and  told  her  she  did  not 
feel  able  to  travel  then,  but  would  come  and  visit 
her  later.  Madame  was  very  angry,  and  her  husband 
also  seemed  in  a  bad  temper.  "What  shall  I  do?" 
she  asked.     "  I  don't  want  to  make  them  angry." 

This  seemed  very  strange  to  me  ;  but  I  asked  if  I 


108  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

should  go  and  speak  to  them.  She  wished  I  would ; 
and  I  ran  down,  and  tapped  at  their  door.  They  were 
having  a  seance  with  Miss  Spencer ;  and  as  I  entered 
Mr.  Home  was  saying,  "  Well,  she  shall  go !  " 

I  asked  madame  to  step  into  the  corridor,  and  gave 
her  my  message.  I  told  her  Mrs.  Davies  was  very 
sorry  to  disappoint  them,  but  felt  too  ill  to  travel. 

"  Well,  she  never  knows  her  own  mind  five  minutes 
at  a  time,"  she  answered.  "But,  if  she  comes  to  us 
at  all,  she  must  come  with  us  this  morning." 

"It  is  very  strange  that  you  should  speak  in  this 
way,"  I  said.  "  If  you  want  her  so  much,  I  presume 
she  will  try  to  go.  But,  if  she  goes,  I  must  tell  you 
something  about  her.  You  are  a  stranger  to  her,  and 
she  is  one  of  my  family.  She  is  subject  to  severe 
attacks  of  nervousness  and  neuralgia.  If  any  thing 
happens  to  her,  I  beg  that  you  will  let  us  know  of  it 
as  soon  as  possible."  And  I  gave  her  our  Boston 
address. 

"  Perhaps  you  think  I  am  giving  Mrs.  Davies  spir- 
itual advice,  but  I  am  not.  The  real  matter  is  this : 
Mrs.  Davies  formed  a  most  unfortunate  attachment 
coming  over  on  the  steamer.  She  thinks,  that,  after 
a  little  rest  with  us,  she  can  go  to  Indiana  and  get  a 
divorce,  and  then  marry  this  young  man." 

"What  is  the  dear  child  thinking  of!"  I  said. 
"  But,  as  she  has  never  mentioned  this  matter  to  me, 


WHAT   HAPPENED   AT   THE   CAMP-MEETING.      109 

she  probably  does  not  wish  me  to  know  it:  so  I  think 
we  will  not  talk  any  more  about  it.     Good-morning." 

I  told  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  the  result  of  my  interview, 
that  she  must  go  then,  if  at  all ;  and,  while  we  were 
talking,  her  friend  came  to  see  her,  and  I  left  them 
together.  In  a  few  moments  Mrs.  Davies  came  out 
with  her  hat  on,  and  said,  "There  is  nothing  for  it  but 
to  go." 

1  said,  "Juliet,  I  don't  understand  this  matter;  but 
of  course  you  must  do  as  you  like."  She  answered 
that  it  was  only  for  three  or  four  days,  when  she 
would  come  and  join  us. 

44  The  sooner  the  better,"  I  said.  "Whenever  you 
come,  we  shall  be  glad  to  see  you."  She  caught  me 
in  her  arms,  crying  and  sobbing  like  a  child. 

I  took  her  wraps  on  my  arm,  and  went  with  her 
down  to  the  veranda,  where  I  handed  them  to  Capt. 
Lindmark,  who  went  with  her  to  the  station.  The 
last  I  saw  of  her  was  when,  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  she 
turned,  and  kissed  her  hand  to  me  until  she  passed  out 
of  sight. 

At  half-past  four  o'clock  that  afternoon  the  sheriff 
came  into  the  house  with  a  warrant  to  arrest  us. 

Dr.  Mack  joined  her  on  the  train.  The  two  left 
it  at  Montague,  went  before  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
charged  us  with  having  illegal  possession  of  property 
of  immense  value,  and  got  a  warrant  for  our  arrest ; 


110  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PEISON. 

while  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  gave  Dr.  Mack  a  power  of  attor- 
ney to  prosecute  us,  and  recover  the  stolen  property. 

When  the  sheriff  came  in  the  afternoon,  he  found 
that  Mr.  Fletcher  was  in  Boston,  and  I  heard  nothing 
about  it.  Mr.  Fletcher  returned  late  in  the  night,  and 
the  matter  was  not  mentioned  to  him. 

At  half-past  seven  next  morning,  feeling  ill,  I  was 
having  my  breakfast  in  bed.  There  came  a  rap  at  the 
door.  Thinking  it  was  Mr.  Fletcher,  I  said,  "Come 
in,"  when  entered  the  burly  form  of  Dr.  Mack,  who 
said,  — 

"  I  have  come  for  Mrs.  Hart-Davies'  property." 

I  supposed  that  he  meant  some  things  she  might 
have  left  in  her  bedroom,  and  said, — 

4 'Why  do  you  come  to  me  for  'her  property'? 
And  how  do  you  dare  to  come  into  my  bedroom?" 

"  Come,  come !  "  said  he  with  insulting  importance. 
"This  won't  do.  You  have  carried  your  head  alto- 
gether too  high  the  last  five  years.  I'll  see  what  I 
can  do  to  bring  it  down." 

I  was  getting  angry;  but,  lying  ill  in  bed,  I  could 
only  say,  "Dr.  Mack,  leave  this  room.  If  you  have 
any  business  to  transact,  you  can  do  it  with  my  hus- 
band." 

"Your  husband  has  run  awa}7,"  said  he.  "Not 
much  chance  of  finding  him!" 

"I  think  you  will  find  him  in  the  dining-room,"  I 


WHAT   HAPPENED   AT   THE   CAMP-MEETING.      Ill 

replied  as  calmly  as  I  could.  "  He  left  this  room  ten 
minutes  ago  to  get  his  breakfast.  Dr.  Mack,  I  have 
not  the  least  idea  of  what  }'Ou  are  doing ;  but,  know- 
ing you  as  I  do,  I  am  sure  it  is  some  dreadfully  dirty 
business." 

"We  won't  argue,  Mrs.  Fletcher,"  said  Mack. 
"If  there  is  anything  I  dislike,  it  is  argument." 

He  left  the  room ;  and  I  locked  my  door,  and 
dressed  myself.  In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Fletcher  came 
with  Dr.  Mack,  and  said,  — 

"  Dr.  Mack  says  he  has  come  for  Mrs.  Hart-Davies' 
property." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "he  will  find  it  in  her  bedroom. 
You  had  best  give  him  her  key." 

"Oh!  it  is  not  that.  He  wants  the  property  she 
has  transferred  to  us." 

"How  can  that  be?"  I  asked.  "There  must  be 
some  mistake.  Most  of  it  is  in  London.  How  can 
we  give  that  to  Dr.  Mack?" 

"That  is  easily  managed,"  interposed  Mack.  "  She 
will  take  what  is  here  now,  and  go  back  to  London 
for  the  rest  of  it." 

"I  suppose  what  you  mean  is  this,"  said  Mr. 
Fletcher:  "Mrs.  Hart-Davies  has  determined  to  leave 
us,  and  wants  her  property.  In  that  case,  I  am  only 
too  glad  to  return  every  thing  that  ever  belonged  to 
her." 


112  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

He  then  gave  Mack,  who  had  shown  his  power  of 
attorney,  an  order  on  the  Boston  bank  for  her  jewels 
and  the  money  she  had  given  him  to  keep  for  her ; 
and  I  searched  our  boxes  to  find  any  things  that  might 
belong  to  her.  I  even  put  out  some  of  my  dresses 
that  were  trimmed  with  her  lace,  and  her  dresses 
trimmed  with  my  lace. 

"She  don't  want  any  of  the  dresses,"  said  he. 
"  She  says  they  are  of  no  consequence." 

I  hung  them  on  nails  in  the  room,  that  they  might 
be  at  her  disposal.  Dr.  Mack  took  his  order,  and 
went  with  the  sheriff  to  the  bank,  and  got  the  jewels, 
with  which  he  returned  to  the  camp,  and  took  them 
and  the  other  things  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies.  Having 
her  power  of  attorney,  he  managed  every  thing  to  his 
liking,  and  said  he  wanted  these  matters  settled  qui- 
etly ;  that  we  had  quarrelled  in  London,  but  here  he 
was  willing  to  let  bygones  be  bygones,  and  wanted  to 
be  friends. 

Next  day  he  came  again,  with  a  list  of  things  which 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  said  we  had  not  restored  to  her,  and 
which  she  demanded.  She  said  that  only  about  half 
her  jewels  were  returned,  and  wanted  her  furs,  India 
shawl,  and  such  articles  as  she  had  herself  packed  to 
leave  in  London. 

Dr.  Mack  went  away,  but  came  back  for  the 
dresses,    which   were   given   to  him.     Soon  after,  he 


WHAT   HAPPENED   AT   THE   CAMP-MEETING.      113 

came  again  with  another  list.  Madame  was  not  sat- 
isfied. 

I  was  very  ill.  Mr.  Fletcher  was  losing  patience. 
lie  said,  ikDr.  Mack,  Mrs.  Fletcher  is  ill.  Ask  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  to  come  and  look  through  the  boxes,  and 
take  whatever  she  claims  as  her  property."  I  sug- 
gested that  he  should  write  a  note  to  that  effect,  "  and 
be  sure  that  she  gets  it." 

He  wrote  :  — 

"  Dear  Juliet,  —  Your  more  than  strange  conduct  is 
wholly  inexplicable  to  me,  and  all  the  more  because  you  know, 
that,  at  any  time  you  wished  for  your  property,  all  you  had  to  do 
was  to  ask  me  for  it.  Would  it  not  have  been  wiser  and  more 
kind  for  you  to  have  come  to  me  personally,  stating  your  wishes 
in  the  matter,  and  by  so  doing  giving  yourself  less  trouble,  and 
me  less  pain  and  humiliation  '?  " 

This  note  was  taken  by  Dr.  Mack,  who  refused  to 
give  her  address.  Of  course  we  had  no  assurance  that 
it  was  ever  given  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  for  several 
days  we  heard  no  more  of  her. 

All  this  time  Signor  Rondi  was  with  Dr.  Mack,  and 
apparently  assisting  him  ;  and  reports  came  to  us,  that 
he  was  making  statements  not  calculated  to  improve 
our  reputation. 

As  soon  as  I  was  able,  I  went  to  Boston,  and  stopped 
at  a  private  hotel,  where  I  also  engaged  rooms  for  Miss 


114  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PKISON. 

Spencer  and  Capt.  Landmark.  Before  I  left  the  camp, 
Signor  Eondi  had  been  begging  Mr.  Barnard,  the  land- 
lord of  our  hotel,  to  procure  him  an  interview  with  me. 
I  preferred  not  to  see  him.  He  was  very  unhappy. 
But  one  day  he  became  quite  radiant,  and  said  to  Mr. 
Barnard,  "  You  do  not  need  to  ask  Mrs.  Fletcher  any 
more  to  give  me  an  interview.     It  is  all  right." 

"  Why,  signor,  what  has  happened?  "  said  Mr.  Bar- 
nard.    "  You  seem  triumphant." 

"  Nothing  has  happened.  But  soon  you  will  know 
all." 

The  morning  after  my  arrival  in  Boston,  appeared 
the  article  in  the  "  Boston  Herald,"  written  by  the  re- 
porter from  information  furnished  by  Dr.  Mack  and 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  with  sensational  headings,  in  the 
American  style,  and  full  of  the  wildest  exaggerations. 
These  were  not,  of  course,  the  fault  of  the  reporter ; 
though  he  did  not,  probably,  make  any  effort  to  soften 
the  picture.  How  many  miscarriages  of  justice  are 
due  to  sensational  reports  spreading  a  deep  prejudice 
through  a  community,  editors  of  newspapers  have  per- 
haps never  considered.  The  spirit  of  English  law, 
and  American  law  derived  from  English,  is  to  hold  and 
treat  every  one  as  innocent  until  he  is  proven  guilty ; 
but  the  spirit  of  an  excited  public  opinion  is  the  exact 
opposite  of  this  law  of  charity :  it  is  to  consider  and 
treat  every  accused  person  as  guilty  until  he  can  prove 


WHAT   HAPPENED   AT   THE   CAMP-MEETING.      115 

his  innocence.  That  there  are  many  lying  in  prison, 
and  that  many  have  suffered  death,  in  consequence  of 
an  excited  and  violent  public  prejudice,  created  and 
fostered  by  sensational  reports  in  newspapers,  no  one 
can  doubt  who  has  given  the  matter  any  consideration. 
When  the  "Boston  Herald"  reached  the  camp, 
there  was  of  course  a  great  excitement ;  but  we  were 
in  the  midst  of  friends  who  had  known  us  too  long  and 
too  well  to  be  carried  off  their  feet  by  a  report  in  a 
newspaper.  The  three  thousand  persons  assembled  at 
Lake  Pleasant  were,  with  a  few  individual  exceptions, 
as  one  family.  An  indignation-meeting  of  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Fletcher  was  held,  and  resolutions  of  confidence 
passed,  and  signed  by  seven  hundred  persons.  Dr.  Mack 
was  forbidden  the  hotel,  and  Signor  Rondi  warned  to 
leave  the  camp  also,  unless  he  wanted  a  coat  of  tar  and 
feathers.     He  took  the  next  train  to  Boston. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

MY   FIRST   NIGHT   IN   PRISON,    AND    WHAT    CAME    OF    IT. 

In  the  first  week  of  September  Mr.  Fletcher  returned 
to  Boston,  and  joined  me  at  our  private  hotel. 

The  impression  had  come  to  me  that  I  should  be 
arrested  that  very  day :  it  had  come  so  strongly,  that 
I  wished  Mr.  Fletcher  to  go  to  Lawrence  in  order  to 
escape  the  pain  and  excitement  which  I  felt  only  too 
certain  was  approaching;  so,  having  invented  a  pretext, 
I  induced  him  to  go.  He  asked  Capt.  landmark  to 
pay  me  any  attention  I  might  require  in  his  absence, 
and  took  the  half -past  two  train. 

At  half-past  three  there  was  a  rap  on  mjT  door. 
"  Come  in  !  "  I  answered.  Capt.  Lindmark,  who  was 
in  the  adjoining  room,  heard  me,  and,  thinking  I  had 
spoken  to  him,  came  into  the  room  by  one  door  just 
as  Dr.  Mack,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  three  detectives 
came  in  at  the  other. 

•  "Are  you  Mrs.  Fletcher?"  asked  the  chief  detec- 
tive. 

"I  am." 
116 


MY  FIRST   NIGHT   IN   PRISON.  117 

"  I  am  an  officer,  and  have  a  warrant  to  search  your 
room." 

"  You  are  quite  welcome  to  perform  your  duty, 
whatever  it  may  be." 

I  was  not  in  the  least  surprised  by  this  visit. 
"Forewarned  is  fore-armed." 

But  Capt.  Lindmark  was  not  entirely  satisfied,  and 
was  less  gifted  with  the  virtue  of  equanimity.  He 
observed  that  Dr.  Mack  had  kept  on  his  hat,  while  the 
three  officers  had  politely  taken  theirs  off ;  and  he  ven- 
tured to  make  a  remark  on  the  subject.     He  said,  — 

"How  dare  you  keep  on  your  hat  in  the  presence 
of  a  lady?  " 

Dr.  Mack  replied  offensively,  that  he  generally  wore 
his  hat  when  he  wanted  to :  thereupon  Capt.  Lind- 
mark knocked  it  off.  The  three  detectives  were  a 
little  astonished  at  this  assault  committed  in  their 
presence  by  a  very  tall  man  in  faultless  attire.  Of 
course  it  was  their  duty  to  arrest  him.  Their  leader 
gave  the  order,  "Put  on  the  twisters."  The  twisters 
are  of  American  invention,  and  are  used  instead  of 
handcuffs.  The  men  did  not  approach  him.  I  sat 
down,  and  waited  to  see  what  would  come  of  it. 
Capt.  Lindmark  was  pale  with  passion,  but  quiet  and 
resolute. 

"It  is  an  assault,  sir,  an  assault,"  said  the  officer. 
No  doubt  it  was,  for  there  lay  Dr.  Mack's  hat  on  the 
floor. 


118  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Mrs.  Hart-Da  vies,  apparently  in  a  happier  frame  of 
mind,  drew  a  little  near  Dr.  Mack,  no  doubt  hoping 
to  encourage  him  by  her  support. 

"  In  Sweden  we  consider  it  the  duty  of  every  gentle- 
man to  see  that  eveiy  lady  is  protected  from  insult," 
continued  Capt.  Lindmark  ;  u  but,  in  obeying  the  laws 
of  gallantry,  I  see  that  I  have  disobeyed  the  laws  of 
your  free  and  progressive  country.  If  you  want  to 
put  your  twisters  on  my  wrists,  pray  proceed,"  hold- 
ing out  his  arms  to  them. 

The  officers  thought  better  of  it,  and  one  of  them 
very  civilly  conducted  him  to  the  station-house. 

They  then,  with  the  assistance  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies, 
very  thoroughly  searched  my  room.  In  about  two 
hours  she  found  and  claimed  property  valued  by  her 
at  thirty  pounds,  every  particle  of  which  belonged 
to  me,  with  the  exception  of  two  night-dresses,  which 
had  been  put  in  one  of  my  boxes  because  her  own 
were  full,  and  which  were  so  old  she  had  intended  to 
throw  them  away  after  the  voyage. 

When  the  search  was  finished,  I  said,  — 

"Now,  gentlemen,  I  presume  you  want  me  to  go 
with  }'ou." 

"  I  have  been  used  to  this  business  for  many  years," 
said  the  officer;  "but  I  never  before  have  done  any 
thing  so  painful  as  this." 

One  of  the  men,  who  seemed  to  be  in  the  employ  of 


MY  FIRST   NIGHT   IX   PRISON.  119 

Dr.  Mack,  told  me  I  could  give  him  any  letters  I  wished 
to  write,  or  telegrams  for  bail. 

I  at  once  telegraphed  to  my  husband,  "  Capt.  land- 
mark has  been  arrested.  Secure  bail  for  him."  I  also 
telegraphed  to  persons  in  Boston  who  I  knew  would 
at  once  give  bail  for  me.  When  doing  this,  I  asked 
Mrs.'  Hart-Davies  to  sit  down,  as  she  looked  very 
tired  and  ill. 

"  You  seem  to  be  very  fond  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies," 
said  the  officer  to  me. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered.  "  I  have  a  great  pity  for  her, 
because  I  think  she  is  acting  under  the  influence  of 
persons  much  worse  than  herself." 

At  five  o'clock  p.m.  I  was  taken  to^he  police-office 
in  Court  Square,  and  wras  treated,  as  I  have  been 
everywhere  by  the  officers  of  the  law,  with  all  possible 
politeness.  The  officer  kindly  offered  me  his  arm,  but 
I  declined  it  with  thanks. 

After  I  was  seated  in  the  clerk's  office,  the  us* 
questions  were  asked,  and  entries  made. 

■•  Where  were  you  born?  "  asked  the  clerk. 

"  In  Lowell,  Mass." 

"  "Why,  but  you  are  English  !  Any  one  would  know 
that  by  your  accent." 

"  I  beg  to  assure  }7ou  that  I  was  born  in  Massachu- 
setts for  all  that." 

The  men  standing  about,  hangers-on  I  suppose,  were 


120  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN    PRISON. 

making  remarks  upon  my  appearance,  my  dress,  and 
my  feet,  while  I  sat  in  an  easy-chair,  answering  the 
formal  questions.  This  being  ended,  a  woman  was 
sent  for,  who  searched  me  for  any  thing  that  I 
might  have  concealed  in  my  dress.  When  this  was 
ended,  I  was  taken  to  the  Tombs,  where  I  was  met 
by  the  jailer,  a  rough-looking,  but,  as  I  soon  found, 
a  most  kind-hearted  man,  who  said,  "  I  suppose  you 
have  never  been  in  a  place  like  this  before."  He  gave 
me  the  only  cell  there  was  vacant,  sent  to  a  neighbor- 
ing hotel  for  my  dinner  (which  was  brought  and  nicely 
served  by  a  colored  waiter) ,  got  me  a  clean  mattress 
for  my  bed,  and  treated  me  with  every  possible  kind- 
ness. 

"I  can't  give  you  what  I  would  like,"  he  said; 
"but  you  shall  have  the  best  I  have  got."  And  he 
brought  me  a  glass  tumbler  to  drink  from,  instead  of 
the  usual  prison  tin  cup. 

The  doors  of  the  cells  were  made  of  iron  bars, 
through  which  all  sounds  could  penetrate.  In  a  short 
time  a  large,  handsome  black  cat  came  to  keep  me  com- 
pairy.  I  gladly  accepted  my  room-mate,  and  shared  my 
dinner  with  her ;  and  as  she  staid  all  night,  purring 
on  my  bed,  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  she  showed 
more  humanity  than  did  the  merciless  woman,  who, 
for  the  sake  of  a  miserably  small  amount  of  property, 
had   placed   me   in  my  unjust   position.     I  was  very 


MY   FIRST   NIGHT   IN   PRISON.  121 

happy   in    thinking   that   my    husband   knew   nothing 
about  it. 

At  midnight  the  prisoners  from  the  different  stations 
were  brought  in  ;  and  the  place  became  a  bedlam  of 
noisy,  drunken  men  and  women,  drunken  mothers, 
crying  children,  and  coarse,  boisterous  young  girls. 
They  were  shouting  and  singing  the  whole  night. 

I  was  not  sleepy.  At  two  o'clock  I  heard  a  steady 
tramp,  tramp,  in  one  of  the  cells,  that  sounded  famil- 
iar. The  jailer  came  past,  and  I  asked  him,  "  Who  is 
this  prisoner  tramping  so  uneasily?  " 

"I  don't  know  who  he  is,  ma'am,"  said  he;  "but 
he  is  an  awful  swell.  He  is  a  Captain  something." 
And  my  heart  was  none  the  lighter  from  knowing  that 
my  friend  was  sharing  my  misfortune. 

In  the  morning  my  good  angel,  a  rough-looking  spe- 
cimen of  an  angel  certainly,  but  as  kind  as  he  could 
be,  took  me  to  his  office,  brought  me  hot  and  cold 
water,  and  towels,  and  left  me  to  my  ablutions.  Then 
he  came  bringing  a  comb  and  brush. 

"You  need  not  be  afraid  of  them,"  he  said. 
"They  belonged  to  my  poor  mother.  I  have  kept 
them  for  her  sake.  Nobody  has  ever  touched  them 
since  she  died,  but  I  kinder  felt  as  if  I  would  like  to 
have  you  use  them." 

If  there  are  many  hard  hearts  among  those  who 
have  charge  of  prisoners,  I  know  that  there  are  also 


122  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

some  most  tender  and  kind.  I  can  testify  that  I  have 
never  found  greater  kindness  or  a  more  unselfish  devo- 
tion than  from  this  class. 

In  the  morning  I  sent  for  a  good  lawyer  to  attend 
to  my  case,  and  at  ten  o'clock  I  had  my  hearing  before 
the  magistrates.  ■ 

The  letters  I  had  written  had  not  been  posted,  and 
the  telegrams  for  bail  had  not  been  sent ;  but,  when  I 
entered  the  court-room,  the  first  thing  I  saw  was  the 
gray  hair  of  my  dear  old  friend  Dr.  Kennedy,  a  ven- 
erable man,  who  in  the  time  of  my  trouble  looked  to 
me  like  an  angel. 

The  dock  was  cleared  of  the  every-day  offenders,  — 
those  charged  with  drunkenness,  disorderly  conduct, 
and  petty  thefts.  The  last  prisoner  was  a  little  boy 
whose  head  did  not  come  above  the  dock.  He  had 
been  arrested  for  stealing  cigars.  "Stealing,  ma'am," 
he  said,  when  I  asked  him.  "  I  wanted  a  smoke,  and 
it  was  nothing  but  a  stub." 

At  last  my  name  was  called.  Dr.  Kennedy  came, 
and  said,  "Mrs.  Fletcher,  I  have  as  much  confidence 
in  your  innocence  as  I  have  in  nry  own,  and  I  have 
come  to  bail  you."  And  he  took  a  seat  at  my 
side. 

"But  how  did  you  come  here?"  I  asked;  for  I 
knew  the  dajT  before  that  he  was  not  in  town. 

"  Well,  I  was  up  in  Vermont,  near  Canada,  and  saw 


MY  FIRST   NIGHT   IN   PRISON.  123 

an  account  of  your  affair  in  a  Boston  newspaper.  I 
have  travelled  all  night  to  come  to  you." 

While  we  were  talking,  another  gentleman  came, 
one  who  knew  me  professionally,  to  ask  if  he  could 
give  bail  for  me,  or  supply  me  with  money. 

My  friendly  jailer  had  told  me  that  the  bail  was 
fixed  at  fifty  thousand  dollars  (ten  thousand  pounds) . 
This  was  of  course  owing  to  the  sensation  reports  in 
the  newspapers,  in  which  I  was  accused  of  swindling 
a  beautiful  young  English  girl  of  sixteen  out  of  an 
immense  fortune.  It  may  be  well  to  state  here  that 
Mrs.  Davies  was  at  least  thirty-eight  years  old. 

In  a  few  minutes  some  of  the  facts  of  the  case  were 
stated  by  my  lawyer,  and  the  magistrate  reduced  the 
bail  to  three  hundred  dollars  (sixt}T  pounds). 

When  I  drove  home  to  our  hotel  with  Dr.  Kennedy, 
we  found  Mr.  Fletcher.  The  telegrams  had  been  de- 
layed by  the  detectives  ;  and  the  writ  had  been  obtained 
late,  simply  to  keep  me  one  night  in  prison.  The  bet- 
ter to  enjoy  the  triumph,  Dr.  Mack  and  Mrs.  Davies 
went  to  Lawrence,  to  my  mother's  house ;  and  he 
walked  up  to  my  sick  husband,  brutally  saying,  "  Will 
Fletcher,  I  have  come  to  tell  you  that  your  icife  is  in 
the  Tombs,  Capt.  Lindmark  ditto,  and  you  wiU  be 
there  before  to-morrow  night." 

Having  perpetrated  this  outrage,  they  jubilantly 
returned  to  Boston.     My  husband  had  an   attack  of 


124  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

heart-disease,  so  that  a  doctor  was  with  him  all  night. 
The  feelings  and  the  condition  of  my  family  may  be 
imagined,  but  can  never  be  expressed.  Mr.  Fletcher 
came  to  Boston  in  the  morning,  and,  without  waiting 
to  be  arrested,  gave  bail  for  his  appearance  ;  the  case 
having  been  postponed  for  a  fortnight  to  secure  the 
presence  of  Mr.  Morton,  to  whom  we  telegraphed  at 
London,  asking  him  to  come  with  the  papers  by  the 
first  steamer. 

The  charge  against  us  at  this  time  was  larcen}T.  We 
were  charged  with  getting  the  beautiful  young  English 
heiress  into  our  power,  and  robbing  her  of  her  inherit- 
ance. 

The  case  came  on  about  the  last  of  October,  when 
such  proofs  were  given  of  a  conspiracy  against  us, 
that  a  warrant  was  issued  for  the  arrest  of  Dr.  Mack 
and  Mrs.  Ilart-Davies.  Mack  was  arrested,  but  I 
prevented  the. warrant  being  served  upon  his  accom- 
plice. She  swore  on  my  trial  that  no  such  warrant 
had  been  issued  ;  though  she  was  present  with  Mack 
when  he  was  arrested,  and  knew  that  her  name  was 
also  in  the  warrant.  They  were  found  together  in  a 
very  low  hotel  in  a  not  very  reputable  quarter  of  the 
New-England  capita!. 

"When  Dr.  Mack  had  his  hearing  before  the  magis- 
trate, he  was  discovered  to  be  one  James  McGeary, 
a  leather-dealer  who  became  bankrupt,  and  found  it 


MY   FIRST   NIGHT    IN    PRISON.  125 

convenient  to  change  his  residence,  his  profession,  and 
even  his  name.  Of  course  he  had  a  right  to  change 
all  three,  and  to  "better  himself"  generally,  which  I 
shall  always  be  glad  to  see  him  do.  As  Dr.  Mack,  he 
came  to  England,  and  then  spent  some  time  on  the 
Continent,  I  do  not  know  in  what  capacity  ;  but  in 
1875  he  came  out  as  a  mesmeric  healer,  or  healing 
medium. 

Finding  himself  under  arrest,  Mack  failed  to  get 
bail,  and  sent  a  note  to  Mr.  Fletcher  by  Signor  Rondi, 
proposing  an  amicable  settlement.  Mr.  Fletcher  con- 
sented, if  it  were  done  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  our 
innocence  of  the  charges  brought  against  us.  Finally 
the  hearing  of  Dr.  Slack's  case  was  postponed  to  the 
18th  of  November,  while  ours  was  to  come  on  the  fol- 
lowing day ;  and  Mack  was  bound  over  in  his  own 
recognizance  of  forty  thousand  dollars. 

Next  day  our  case  was  again  postponed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  settlement.  We  had  a  meeting  at  the  office 
of  Dr.  Mack's  lawyer ;  and  the  terms  of  settlement 
were  drawn  up,  by  which  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  agreed  to 
return  to  us  most  of  the  propert}T  she  had  claimed  in 
Boston  ;  to  make  over  to  us  a  portion  of  that  left  in 
Gordon  Street,  London  ;  to  pay  a  hundred  and  forty 
pounds  for  expenses  incurred  in  her  behalf;  and  per- 
sonally, or  through  her  solicitor,  to  completely  exon- 
erate us  from  all  the  charges  that  had.  been  brought 


126  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

against  us.  We  agreed,  on  our  part,  to  deliver  up  to 
her  all  other  property  belonging  to  her,  and  to  abandon 
the  legal  proceedings. 

This  settlement  is  a  matter  of  record,  and  was  wit- 
nessed by  all  present.  It  was  specially  provided  that 
the  property  seized  should  be  delivered  to  me  for  my 
inspection  ;  and  within  a  certain  date,  I  think  the  29th 
of  October,  we  were  to  deliver  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
her  property  in  London,  which  she  was  to  go  and 
inspect,  and  then  telegraph  to  us  at  Boston. 

The  next  day  we  expected  the  property  there  to  be 
given  to  us  according  to  the  terms  of  the  agreement. 
It  did  not  come,  nor  on  the  next.  After  waiting  a  few 
days,  we  heard  that  Dr.  Mack  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
had  sailed  for  London,  by  which  proceeding  Mack  had 
forfeited  his  recognizances  of  forty  thousand  dollars, 
and  become  in  some  sense,  or  to  that  amount,  a  fugi- 
tive from  justice. 

It  was  expressly  stipulated  in  the  settlement  that  the 
property  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  at  our  house  in  London 
should  be  given  to  her  or  her  order,  and  specially  pro- 
vided that  it  was  not  to  be  given  to  Mack,  and  that  he 
should  not  enter  our  house.  Our  first  news  of  them  in 
London  came  by  a  telegram  informing  us  that  Dr.  Mack, 
Mrs.  Heurtley  (as  she  now  preferred  to  be  called) ,  and 
Mr.  Abrahams  her  solicitor,  had  been  to  our  house, 
and  taken  away  all  her  property  and  much  of   ours. 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT   IN  PRISON.  127 

According  to  the  letters  that  followed  the  telegram, 
the  house  had  been  ransacked  from  cellar  to  attic,  and 
our  papers  and  private  correspondence  seized,  includ- 
ing all  the  letters  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  us,  thus 
robbing  us  of  our  means  of  defence. 

All  this,  of  course,  was  in  direct  violation  of  the 
formal  settlement  made  at  Boston,  and  under  all  the 
circumstances  an  outrage  which  I  cannot  trust  myself 
to  speak  of  as  I  think  it  deserves.  It  was  not  only 
an  invasion  of  our  house  much  worse  than  an  ordinary 
burglar}7,  made  in  violation  of  a  solemn  agreement, 
but  if  there  was,  as  pretended,  a  search-warrant,  it 
must  have  been  procured  by  downright  perjury.  In 
any  case,  there  was  robbery ;  for  on  getting  an  order 
to  search  the  Bedford  Pantechnicon,  after  the  term 
of  my  imprisonment,  I  found  there  a  bundle  of  letters 
addressed  to  Mr.  Fletcher  and  myself,  and  quantities 
of  furniture,  dresses,  and  other  articles,  which  it  was 
utterly  impossible  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  could  mis- 
take for  her  own.  There  were  some  articles,  no  doubt, 
difficult  to  identify.  Whenever  I  had  any  doubt  as  to 
any  article,  I  declined  to  claim  it;  but  furniture,  dresses, 
and  jewels  such  as  I  found  among  the  things  removed 
by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  and  her  accomplices  from  my 
house,  no  one  could  mistake.  My  servants  are  able 
to  swear  to  them. 

We  were   bound   over  in   the   sum  of   six  hundred 


128  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PKISON. 

dollars  (one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds),  to  remain 
until  the  10th  of  November.  Mr.  Fletcher  had  been 
announced  to  resume  his  discourses  at  Steinway  Hall 
in  October.  The  whole  matter  seemed  disastrous. 
Mack  was  busy  using  the  English  press  against  us ; 
and  we  were  bitterly  attacked,  not  only  in  the  "  Spirit- 
ualist," but  in  a  short-lived  weekly  paper,  which  was 
said  to  have  been  started  by  some  friends  of  Mack, 
and  certainly  contained  nothing  of  interest  but  its 
attacks  upon  the  Fletchers. 

Early  in  November  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  W. 
Eglinton,  the  well-known  medium,  telling  me  that  Dr. 
Mack  had  applied  for  a  warrant  against  us  in  London. 
On  the  7th  of  November  I  received  a  letter  from  our 
friends  Miss  S.  E.  Gay  and  Mrs.  Maltby,  who  had 
charge  of  our  house,  informing  me  that  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  intended  to  have  me  arrested  on  my  return. 
So  in  the  first  week  of  November  I  had  every  reason 
to  believe  I  should  be  arrested,  as  I  was,  before  I 
landed  in  England. 

The  final  hearing  of  our  case  in  Boston  had  been 
set  down  for  Nov.  10.  On  the  8th  Dr.  Mack  tele- 
graphed to  Mr.  Ives,  their  counsel,  that  ill  health  pre- 
vented Mrs.  Hart-Davies  from  returning,  and  asking 
for  a  postponement.  Mr.  Ives  sent  an  open  letter  to 
the  Court,  saying,  that,  as  the  settlement  made  b}'  his 
advice  had  not  been  carried  out,  he  must  abandon  the 


MY  FIRST   NIGHT   IN   PRISON.  129 

case.  We  were  accordingly  honorably  discharged  ;  and 
on  Nov.  15,  1880,  I  left  New  York  by  the  steamer 
"  Anchoria  "  for  Greenock,  previously  announcing  my 
departure  by  that  steamer  in  the  Boston  papers,  and 
stating  my  object  in  going  to  London;  viz.,  to  meet 
the  accusations  against  me.  I  marked  newspapers 
containing  this  announcement  with  a  red  pencil,  and 
sent  copies  to  Dr.  Mack,  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  to 
the  Bow-street  magistrates,  which  I  think  disposes  of 
Mr.  Abrahams'  flourish  about  the  herculean  efforts  of 
the  police,  which  had  happily  resulted  in  my  arrest. 

The  following  report  of  the  final  proceeding  in  the 
Boston  Municipal  Court,  which  will  best  show  the  ter- 
mination of  the  case  in  America,  so  soon  to  be  revived 
in  England,  appeared  in  u  The  Boston  Herald"  of 
Nov.  10,  1880. 

THE    FLETCHER  LARCENY   CASE   COMES   UP    IN 
COURT,  AND  IS  DISMISSED. 

In  the  Municipal  Court,  before  Judge  May,  this  forenoon, 
the  often  continued  and  well  remembered  case  of  Mr.  J. 
William  Fletcher  and  his  wife  Susan  W.  Fletcher  was  called. 
This  case  is  one  where  the  defendants,  who  are  well  known 
in  Spiritualist  circles,  were  charged  with  having  obtained  a 
large  amount  of  property  from  one  Julia  Hart-Davies  by  false 
representations.  When  it  was  reached  to-day,  Major  John  W. 
Mahan,  of  counsel  for  the  defendants,  read  the  following  letter 
from  S.  B.  Ives,  jun.,  counsel  for  Mrs.  Davies:  — 


130  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

United  States  Circuit  Court, 
Boston,  Nov.  10, 1S80. 
My  dear  Major,  — I  am  actually  engaged  iu  the  trial  of  a  case  here, 
and  can't  get  away  at  present,  perhaps  not  to-day.  As  you  know,  au 
arrangement  was  made  between  your  clients  and  mine,  in  the  matter  of 
the  complaint  against  Fletcher,  for  an  adjustment  of  all  matters  iu  contro- 
versy, by  which  nearly  all  the  goods  claimed  by  my  client  were  to  be  given 
up  to  Fletcher,  and  others  surrendered  by  Fletcher  to  Madame  Davies.  I 
am  sorry  to  say  that  this  arrangement  was  not  carried  out,  by  no  fault  ou 
your  part  or  that  of  your  clients,  and  that  my  client  has  fled  the  country. 
Under  the  circumstances  I  do  not  see  that  my  presence  in  court  can  be  of 
any  service,  as  I  could  only  say  this,  and  that  I  could  not  ask  that  the  pro- 
ceedings against  the  Fletchers  should  be  kept  alive  any  louger. 

Yours  respectfully, 
John  W.  Mahan,  Esq.  STEPHEN  B.  IVES,  Jun. 

Joseph  H.  Bradley,  Esq.,  also  counsel  for  the  defence, 
addressed  the  Court  briefly,  contending  that  the  relations 
between  Mrs.  Davies  and  the  defendants  were  of  a  friendly 
nature  until  one  Dr.  Mack,  seeking  revenge  on  the  defend- 
ants, poisoned  the  minds  of  Mrs.  Davies,  and  induced  her  to 
make  this  prosecution.  At  all  times  the  defendants  were 
ready  to  meet  the  charges  against  them;  and  finally,  to  show 
that  they  did  not  have  any  dishonest  intentions  toward  the 
complainant,  they  consented  to  an  arrangement  whereby  the 
property,  which  remains  intact,  would  be  restored  to  her, 
although  the  proof  was  positive  that  the  Fletchers  were  in 
legal  possession  of  it.  Finding  that  they  had  placed  them- 
selves within  the  reach  of  the  law  for  defamation  of  character, 
Mrs.  Davies,  and  her  adviser  Dr.  Mack,  had  left  the  country, 
and  there  is  now  no  redress  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  the 
defendants. 

The  Court  asked  if  there  was  any  one  to  appear  and  prose- 
cute the  defendants ;  and,  being  answered  in  the  negative,  he 
ordered  the  case  to  be  dismissed. 


MY   FIRST   NIGHT   IN   PRISON.  131 

Thus  ended  our  prosecution  in  America,  by  our 
prosecutors  running  away  to  England  to  avoid  the  con- 
sequences of  their  own  misdeeds,  and  to  carry  on  their 
work  where  a  stronger  prejudice  against  Spiritualism 
might  give  them  a  better  chance  of  success. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FROM    BOSTON    TO    BOW    STREET,    LONDON. 

In  these  troubles,  the  health  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  always 
feeble,  had  utterly  brokeu  down  ;  and  his  doctor  would 
not  hear  of  his  facing  a  winter  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic.  I  had  concealed  from  him,  and  also  from 
my  parents,  the  fact  of  a  warrant  having  been,  in 
spite  of  the  settlement  on  record  in  Boston,  sworn 
out  against  us  in  London.  It  was  only  on  the  very 
eve  of  my  departure  that  anj^  of  my  family  had  a 
suspicion  of  the  fate  that  awaited  me.  When  the 
carriage  was  at  the  door  to  take  me  to  the  railway, 
my  boy  Alvah,  who  was  to  drive  me  there,  came  and 
put  his  hand  in  mine.  "  Mamma,"  he  said,  u  you  may 
deceive  grandpapa  and  grandmamma ;  but  you  can't 
deceive  me.  I  know  that  you  expect  to  be  arrested 
when  you  get  to  England,  and  that  you  are  going 
over  to  take  your  trial." 

Poor  mamma  was  nearly  mad  with  the  grief  of  part- 
ing with  me,  and  my  little  sister  clung  to  my  neck 
until  I  was  forced  to  tear  myself  from  her.  My 
132 


FROM  BOSTON  TO  BOW  STREET,  LONDON.   133 

father,  calm  and  strong,  said,  "My  child,  is  this 
true?" 

"  Yes,  papa,  I  think  it  is.  I  thought  it  best  to  keep 
it  from  my  husband,  but  I  must  go.  I  know  all  that 
will  be  said  about  it.  They  will  call  me  foolhardy  and 
crazy,  and  all  that ;  but  I  could  not  sleep  if  I  left  one 
stone  unturned  to  prove  my  innocence.  And  dearer 
than  that  is  m}'  desire  to  relieve  Spiritualism  from  this 
scandal.  Every  friend  we  have  in  London  has  a  right 
to  demand  that  we  clear  ourselves  of  the  stigma  of 
these  false  accusations." 

"My  child,"  he  said,  "I  am  not  going  to  oppose 
you  for  an  instant.  If  you  feel  it  to  be  your  duty 
to  go  to  London,  go.  In  your  defence  of  what  you 
believe  to  be  right  I  will  stand  by  you,  if  it  takes  you 
to  the  scaffold." 

This  was  all  the  help  I  had.  These  partings  with 
my  loved  ones  were  my  real  trial.  What  came  after 
was  of  no  account,  in  comparison.  I  did  not  tell  my 
husband  that  I  should  be  arrested,  but  he  did  every 
thing  he  could  to  keep  me  from  going.  He  came  with 
me  as  far  as  Springfield  on  the  way  to  New  York,  and 
bore  it  as  well  as  he  could  until  the  moment  came 
when  he  had  to  leave  the  train  ;  then  he  broke  down, 
and  said,  "O  Bertie,  Bertie!  for  God's  sake  don't 
go !  "  And  there  came  into  his  face  at  that  supreme 
moment  the  anguish  of  all  that  was  to  come. 


134  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

For  my  part,  I  never  had  a  greater  evidence  of 
supernatural  assistance  than  the  power  that  made  me 
say,  "  I  must  go"  and  which  sustained  him  through 
that  dreadful  farewell. 

No  one  on  the  steamer  recognized  me  as  one  who 
had  beoome  of  late  so  notorious.  The  November  gales 
gave  us  a  rough  passage  ;  but  I  was  less  affected  by 
them  than  usual,  and  was  glad  to  be  able  to  give  some 
help  to  others.  Toward  the  end  of  our  passage  we 
had  one  of  the  most  frightful  storms  our  captain  had 
ever  experienced.  It  seemed  for  hours  as  if  we  must 
go  to  the  bottom.  I  was  not  in  a  condition  to  regard 
this  as  a  calamit}*,  for  I  knew  that  a  much  worse  one 
awaited  me.  I  cheered  the  women,  and  sang  to  them 
when  it  was  possible  to  keep  nry  seat  at  the  piano- 
forte. 

When  we  had  steamed  out  of  the  cyclone,  the  captain 
said,  "I  believe  I  never  saw  a  person  so  free  from 
care  as  you  are.  All  the  way,  you  have  been  as  merry 
as  a  bird.  I  think  we  should  give  you  a  vote  of  thanks, 
for  I  don't  know  what  we  should  have  done  without 
you." 

"  Captain,"  I  answered  seriously,  "  you  have  been 
very  kind  to  me,  and  I  should  like  to  tell  you  a  little 
of  my  story.  What  would  you  say  if  I  told  you  that 
I  expected  to  be  arrested  before  I  leave  your  ship  ? ' ' 

"  Well,  I  should  say  you  were  taxing  my  credulity." 


FROM    BOSTON    TO    BOW    STREET,    LONDON.      135 

"  Captain,  I  do  expect  to  be  arrested  ;  and  I  think 
I  ought  to  tell  you  the  fact  and  the  reason  why." 

So  I  told  him  who  I  was,  and  what  I  had  come  to 
meet.  He  urged  me  to  return  to  America,  not  to  land 
at  all.  "It  is  preposterous,"  he  said,  "that  you 
should  be  subjected  to  such  an  indignity." 

"  The  warrant  is  out  for  me,"  I  said.  "  My  infor- 
mation is  accurate  on  that  point.  I  have  not  crossed 
the  ocean  for  a  pleasure-trip.  I  have  come  expressly 
to  meet  the  charges  against  me." 

He  said  I  need  not  go  on  to  Greenock.  "  "Why  not 
land  at  Moville?  You  can  leave  us  there,  and  go  to 
London  when  and  how  you  please,  if  you  must  go." 

Moville  is  the  Irish  landing-place  for  the  Greenock 
steamers,  as  Queenstown  is  for  those  from  Liverpool. 
When  he  found  that  I  was  determined  to  continue  on 
my  course,  he  only  added,  "Very  well:  then  all  you 
have  to  do  is  to  tell  me  if  I  can  do  any  thing  to  help 
you." 

We  arrived  at  Greenock  about  five  p.m.  I  stood  on 
deck  watching  for  the  officers.  The  captain  came,  and 
asked  me  if  I  saw  them. 

"  None  that  I  can  recognize  as  detectives,"  I  said. 

"And  no  Mack?" 

"  No  Mack,  so  far." 

"Thank  God!  "  said  he  fervently,  and  went  to  see 
to  his  visitors.     I  sat  waiting  where  he  left  me. 


136  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Pretty  soon  the  captain  came  again,  and  said,  "  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  take  my  arm.  The  officers  are  in  the  cabin. 
Shall  I  bring  them  here?  " 

"  No,  captain.  I  will  go  to  the  saloon  with  you,  and 
you  can  introduce  my  visitors." 

The  captain  brought  Mr.  Shrive,  one  of  the  London 
detectives,  and  introduced  me  to  him.  "  This  is  Mrs. 
Fletcher,"  he  said.  "  She  is  a  lady,  and  is  on  my 
steamer.  I  have  been  on  this  line  for  seventeen  years, 
and  you  know  me.  I  hold  myself  responsible  for  the 
treatment  of  my  lady-passengers,  and  I  shall  hold  you 
responsible  for  her  treatment  afterward." 

The  arrest  was  made  so  quietly  and  so  politely,  that 
though  my  fellow-passengers  were  all  around  me,  and 
many  came  to  say  some  parting  words,  not  one  of 
them  knew  what  had  happened. 

I  was  taken  in  a  cab  to  the  police-station,  and  treated 
not  only  with  consideration,  but  with  real  kindness. 
The  men  looked  at  me,  of  course.  They  were  com- 
paring me  with  a  photograph  which  had  been  sent 
down  from  London.  Photographs  do  not  always  flat- 
ter those  who  sit  for  them  ;  and  mine  must  have  been 
very  bad,  for  I  was  amused  at  a  remark  I  overheard, 
"  I  say,  Bob,  bean't  she  handsomer  than  the  pictur?" 

I  certified  to  my  identity,  and  was  politely  shown  to 
the  room  of  the  chief  of  police,  where  I  sat  writing 
letters  till  three  o'clock  a.m.     Every  thing  was  done 


FROM   BOSTON  TO   BOW   STREET,    LONDON.      137 

to  make  me  comfortable.  In  the  morning  I  was  taken 
before  the  magistrate  for  some  formality,  and  he  did 
me  the  honor  of  calling  upon  me  during  the  forenoon. 

Mr.  Shrive,  who  had  come  to  escort  me  to  London, 
did  every  thing  he  could  for  my  comfort.  I  was 
struck  with  a  remark  of  the  female  searcher,  who  was 
of  course  obliged  to  perform  her  function.  She  said, 
"I  knew  there  was  nothing  about  you."  Hojy  well 
they  are  able  to  read  human  nature  ! 

On  the  way  to  London,  Mr.  Shrive  was  unremitting 
in  his  kindness.  I  was  very  tired  after  my  sleepless 
night,  and  he  begged  me  to  rest  my  head  upon  cush- 
ions he  had  arranged.  An  old  Scottish  lady  sitting 
opposite  felt  sure  we  were  sweethearts,  and  was  kindly 
sympathetic,  declaring  that  she  had  been  young  her- 
self. 

When  we  arrived  at  Enston,  Mr.  Shrive  took  a  cab, 
and  did  his  best  not  to  take  me  to  Bow  Street,  where 
the  old  lock-up,  then  nearing  its  last  days,  he  knew 
well  was  crowded  and  dirty  and  dreadful.  But  the 
better  station  to  which  he  first  took  me  was  full.  The 
cab  went  through  Gordon  Street.  My  house  was 
lighted  up,  and  the  shadow  of  my  bird-cage  was  pic- 
tured very  prettily  on  the  blind.  It  was  a  little  hard, 
and  very  needless,  I  thought,  to  take  me  past  the 
home  I  so  dearly  loved,  and  through  the  Seven  Dials 
and  the  slums  of  Drury  Lane,  to  those  horrible  cells 


138  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

in  Bow  Street  —  as  if  I,  who  bad  come  three  thousand 
miles  to  be  arrested,  was  likely  to  try  to  escape. 

Capt.  Lindmark,  who  left  the  United  States  for 
London  early  in  November,  met  me  at  the  Euston 
station,  and,  though  not  expecting  me,  came,  as  his 
angel  directed,  to  the  door  of  the  railway-carriage  in 
which  I  was.  Later  he  came  to  Bow  Street,  where, 
in  spite  of  the  crowd,  Mr.  Shr-ive  had  managed  to  get 
me  a  cell  all  to  myself.  Capt.  Lindmark,  with  his  ever 
prescient,  never  failing,  and  always  most  gentlemanly 
kindness,  got  me  a  most  comfortable  rug,  and  ordered 
me  a  supper.  I  was  made  as  comfortable  as  was  pos- 
sible in  such  a  place  ;  and  in  the  morning  I  made  my 
first  appearance  in  the  famous  police-court  in  Bow 
Street,  before  the  bigoted,  partial,  and  prejudiced 
Mr.  Flowers,  who  had  sentenced  Henry  Slade  to  three 
mouths'  imprisonment  as  a  rogue  and  vagabond,  and 
where,  sitting  in  the  chair  of  Henry  Fielding,  he  was 
destined  to  see  me  before  him  in  the  prisoner's  dock 
through  many  weary  sessions. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

BEFORE    MR.    FLOWERS    AT   BOW   STREET. 

On  the  3d  of  December,  1880,  I  made  my  first 
appearance  at  the  ancient  central  police-court  in  Bow 
Street,  close  by  Covent  Garden  Market  and  Opera 
House,  —  a  gloomy,  stuffy,  wretched  old  place,  which 
was  soon  after  abandoned  for  the  splendid  and  spa- 
cious new  edifice  then  just  completed. 

Of  «this  bad  old  place  I  am  happy  to  testify,  that 
from  first  to  last  I  was  treated  by  its  officers  with 
every  possible  kindness.  I  took  my  place  in  the  pris- 
oner's dock,  in  front  of  Mr.  Flowers,  who.  happened 
to  be  the  one  of  the  three  magistrates  that  day  on 
duty,  and  who,  having  had  the  case  of  Henry  Slade, 
had  had  some  experience  of  Spiritualism. 

The  report  of  the  proceedings  in  the  "Times"  of 
Dec.  4'  occupies  a  column  and  a  half,  a  very  unusual 
space  for  a  preliminary  proceeding.  It  is  headed 
"Charge  against  a  Spiritualist,"  a  rather  unusual 
kind  of  heading.  How  would  "  Charge  against  a 
Methodist,"  or  "  Charge  against  a  Baptist,"  look,  for 

139 


140  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

example?  It  displayed  a  prejudice  at  the  beginning. 
A  humane  maxim  of  the  law  presumes  the  innocence 
of  any  one  accused  of  crime  until  he  is  proved  guilt}*. 
I  was  charged  with  fraud.  The  fact  that  I.  was  avow- 
edly a  Spiritualist  medium  was,  to  the  great  body  of 
the  people,  prima  fade  evidence  of  guilt. 

The  prosecutrix,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  was  "  accommo- 
dated with  a  seat"  in  the  witness-box,  at  the  right  of 
the  magistrate.  The  pen  in  which  the  public  is  per- 
mitted to  stand  was  packed,  as  is  usual  in  interesting 
ca'ses.  As  many  of  my  friends  were  present  as  could 
get  admission,  and  among  them  some  enthusiastic 
ladies,  who,  with  more  zeal  than  discretion,  brought 
me  large  bouquets  of  flowers. 

Mr.  S.  B.  Abrahams,  described  in  the  reports  as  a 
solicitor,  is  a  Hebrew  lawyer,  whose  practice  seems 
confined  to  the  alternate  prosecution  and  defence  of 
persons  accused  of  irregularities  in  various  police- 
courts.  In  New  York  he  would  be  called  a  "Tombs 
lawyer."  It  is  but  just  to  say,  that,  whether  he 
attacks  or  defends,  he  is  equally  energetic,  and  equally 
free  from  that  bane  of  the  profession,  scruples.  The 
maxim  so  often  attributed  to  the  Jesuits,  k'  tile  end 
justifies  the  means,"  is  necessarily  the  rule  of  the  legal 
profession.  According  to  Erskine,  no  barrister  has  a 
right  to  refuse  a  retainer,  either  to  prosecute  the  inno- 
cent or  to  defend  the  guilty. 


BEFORE  MR.   FLOWERS   AT   BOW   STREET.      141 

Mr.  Abrahams,  who  solemnly  puts  on  his  shining 
silk  hat  whenever  he  takes  an  oath,  had  a  few  months 
before  ably  and  successfully  defended  Miss  Houghton, 
a  healing  medium  whom  I  knew  in  America.  She  had 
been  visited  by  that  remarkable  protege  of  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury, and  anti  -  spiritualist  clergyman,  Mr.  Charles 
Stuart  Cumberland,  who  pretended  to  consult  her  for 
rheumatism,  took  a  box  of  homoeopathic  pillules,  and, 
leaving  half  a  crown  upon  her  table,  went  and  swore 
out  a  summons  at  Marlborough-street  police-court  for 
fraud.  Mr.  Abrahams  was  selected  as  the  most  fit 
and  proper  person  to  grapple  with  such  an  antagonist. 
He  denounced  Mr.  Cumberland  as  an  impostor,  whose 
real  name  was  Charles  Garland,  a  butcher's  clerk  at 
Oxford,  and  got  poor  Miss  Houghton  out  of  the 
clutches  of  the  law,  and  finally  compelled  Garland, 
alias  "Charles  Stuart  Cumberland,"  the  exposed 
exposer,  to  abandon  the  prosecution.  Mr.  Abrahams 
then  proposed  to  prosecute  him  for  perjury,  and 
induced  several  Spiritualists  to  contribute  a  guinea 
each  for  this  purpose.  He  has  never  brought  the 
charge ;  but,  as  I  presume  the  etiquette  of  the  profes- 
sion requires,  he  has  carefully  kept  the  guineas. 

Mr.  Abrahams,  the  r-eader  will  remember,  headed 
the  raid  made  on  my  house  in  Gordon  Street  in  my 
absence,  in  which  the  property  claimed  by  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies,  including  a  quantity  that   never  belonged  to 


142  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

her,  and  all  our  letters,  disappeared,  and  a  portion  of 
which  I  found  later  on  stored  at  the  Bedford  Pan- 
technicon. 

The  formal  charge  against  me  at  Bow  Street  was 
for  being  concerned,  with  my  husband,  in  unlawfully 
obtaining  three  strings  of  Oriental  pearls  and  other 
jewelry,  by  means  of  false  pretences,  with  intent  to 
defraud  Juliet  Anne  Theodora  Heurtley  Richard  Hart- 
Davies. 

"The  prisoner  having  been  accommodated  with  a 
seat  in  the  dock," — I  quote  the  report  in  the 
"Times,"  —  "Mr.  Abrahams  proceeded  to  open  the 
case  at  very  great  length.  He  said  the  charge  was 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  nature.  The  prisoner 
had  conspired  with  her  husband  to  defraud  the  prose- 
cutrix of  a  great  amount  of  valuable  property,  and 
had  obtained  large  quantities  of  jewelry  and  other 
valuable  effects.  The  prosecutrix  was  a  married  wo- 
man not  now  living  with  her  husband." 

Going  on  with  the  story,  no  doubt  as  told  him  b}r 
Mrs.  Davies  and  Dr.  Mack,  Mr.  Abrahams  gave  a 
highly  colored  account  of  the  first  acquaintance  of 
Mr.  Fletcher  with  his  patient  at  Farquhar  Lodge. 
"There  was  no  doubt,"  Mr.  Abrahams  suggested, 
"that  Mr.  Hart-Davies  told  many  events  of  his  life, 
etc.,  to  Fletcher,  a  point  which  it  was  important  to 
bear  in  mind,  inasmuch  as  it  solved   the   mystery  of 


BEFORE   MR.   FLOWERS   AT   BOW   STREET.      143 

the  *  spiritual '  messages  which  eventually  came  to  the 
prosecutrix,  aud  which  had  so  much  bearing  on  the 
prosecution." 

It  seems  rather  remarkable,  if  such  was  the  case, 
that  Mr.  Hart-Davies  was  never,  from  first  to  last, 
called  upon  to  testify. 

"When  Fletcher  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies,"  continued  this  son  of  Abraham,  —  "  he  hav- 
ing previously  acquired  a  great  deal  of  information 
respecting  her  mother,  her  antecedents,  etc.,  from  her 
own  husband,  —  he  knew  she  was  the  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Heurtley,  a  lady  of  very  large  fortune,  who  lived  at 
Hampton  Court  House,  Hampton  Court.  Mrs.  Heurt- 
ley, at  the  death  of  her  mother  and  brother,  Mr. 
Sampson,  came  into  property  worth  over  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds.  This  was  known  to  the  man 
Fletcher,  as  would  be  proved  by  a  memorandum  in 
his  own  handwriting,  setting  forth  the  whole  of  the 
property  which  by  and  by,  if  she  lived,  the  prosecu- 
trix would  inherit." 

Let  me  pause  in  this  romance  to  say,  that  the  amount 
of  Mrs.  Davies's  property,  actual  and  prospective,  is 
here  exaggerated,  perhaps  twenty-fold,  and  that  the 
late  Mr.  Sampson,  formerly  financial  editor  of  the 
"Times,"  was  not  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Heurtley. 
They  lived  together,  and  he  bestowed  upon  her  a 
considerable  amount  of  property ;  but  there  was  no 
such  lawful  relationship. 


144  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PBISON. 

Mr.  Abrahams  proceeded  to  read  long  messages, 
written  down  from  memory  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies, 
which  she  said  had  been  given  her  through  Mr. 
Fletcher  in  their  early  interviews,  advising  her  to  seek 
genial  society,  and  do  what  was  needful  for  her  health. 
It  seems  very  improbable  that  one  should  remember 
so  great  a  quantity  of  matter  with  accuracy,  and 
highly  probable,  that,  in  any  but  a  "Spiritualist" 
case,  a  magistrate  would  have  hesitated  to  admit  such 
matter  as  evidence. 

Mr.  Abrahams  said,  that,  "as  Mrs.  Davies  had 
never  seen  Mr.  Fletcher  before,  she  was  simply  as- 
tounded at  these  messages  from  her  dead  mother."  It 
did  not  occur  to  her  that  her  husband  had  been  care- 
fully coaching  Mr.  Fletcher  in  the  history  of  her  life. 
But  why  was  he  not  in  court?  and  why  was  he  never 
called  upon  to  prove  it? 

"  On  the  fifth  occasion,"  said  Mr.  Abrahams,  "  Mrs. 
Fletcher  was  introduced  upon  the  scene,  having,  no 
doubt,  also  been  made  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  the  prosecutrix,  to  whom  she  was  most 
affectionate.  She  would  be  charged  with  conspiring 
with  a  man  not  yet  in  custody  [Mr.  Morton]  in  obtain- 
ing jcweliy,  and,  among  other  things,  some  lace  worth 
four  thousand  pounds,  and  in  fact  every  thing  which 
she  possessed.  [This  wonderful  box  of  lace,  which 
no  one  has  ever  seen  !] 


BEFORE  MR.   FLOWERS   AT   BOW   STREET.      145 

"It  would  be  shown,  that,  under  the  influence  of 
the  Fletchers  and  the  other  man,  the  prosecutrix  was 
induced  to  sign  a  will  in  the  prisoner's  favor.  After 
signing  the  will,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  began  to  feel  ill, 
especially  after  drinking  some  coffee  and  other  things 
provided  by  the  prisoner.  Mr.  Abrahams  did  not 
know  to  what  this  might  lead,  but  he  thought  it  suffi- 
cient to  allude  to  the  fact.'-' 

This  charge  of  an  attempt  to  murder  made,  as  was 
intended,  a  strong  impression  upon  the  magistrate, 
and,  no  doubt,  also  upon  the  public.  It  justified  Mr. 
Flowers  in  refusing  bail ;  though  it  was  urged  by  Mr. 
Flegg,  who  had  been  engaged  by  some  friends  to 
appear  in  my  behalf,  that,  as  I  had  crossed  the  Atlan- 
tic as  soon  as  informed  of  the  charge  against  me,  it 
was  highly  improbable  that  I  would  wish  to  escape 
from  an  investigation  I  had  come  so  far  to  meet. 

But  Mr.  Flowers,  in  view  of  the  immense  robbery, 
and  attempt  to  murder,  with  which  I  was  charged, 
refused  to  admit  me  to  bail. 

' ;  The  prisoner  was  removed  from  the  dock ;  and 
three  ladies,  each  holding  a  bouquet,  two  of  which 
were  white,  emblematic  of  purity,  tried  to  get  at  her 
as  she  was  removed  to  the  cells."  As  if  I  were  a  crip- 
ple unable  to  walk,  or  some  wild  beast  requiring  as 
much  force  as  poor  Jumbo  to  remove  me ! 

In  spite  of  all  Mr.  Abrahams  had  said  of  my  being 


146  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

a  robber,  and  probably  guilty  of  an  intent  to  murder, 
the  magistrate,  "Mr.  Flowers,  expressed  a  hope  that 
the  prisoner  would  be  properly  treated  while  in  cus- 
tody." 

As  if  prisoners  simply  accused  of  crimes,  and  pre- 
sumed to  be  innocent  until  proved  guilty,  could  ever 
be  improperly  treated ! 


CHAPTER  XX. 

I    AM    ADMITTED   TO  BAIL,  AND   THE    GOVERNMENT   PROSE- 
CUTES. 

The  worthy  magistrate  at  Bow  Street  did  not  long 
persevere  in  his  determination  to  keep  me  safe  in  her 
Majesty's  prison  at  Clerkenwell.  There  was  not  much 
to  complain  of  there,  only  that  it  is  a  prison.  A  per- 
son accused  of  crime,  still  innocent  in  the  eyes  of  the 
law,  should  have  every  comfort  consistent  with  safe- 
keeping. No  doubt  this  principle  has  been  to  some 
extent  lost  sight  of ;  and  accused  persons,  poor  debt- 
ors, and  even  witnesses  who  were  unable  to  find  sure- 
ties for  their  appearance  at  trial  to  give  testimony, 
have  been  treated  as  if  they  were  criminals. 

After  the  charge  had  been  made  against  me  at  Bow 
Street  by  Mr.  Abrahams,  I  sent  for  a  solicitor  recom- 
mended to  me  as  an  honorable  man  and  a  lawyer 
of  ability  and  experience  in  criminal  procedure,  Mr. 
Edward  Dillon  Lewis.  He  entered  warmly  and  sym- 
pathetically into  the  case  in  every  respect  but  one.  He 
was  not  a  Spiritualist.     He  had  had  no  opportunity 

147 


148  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

of  witnessing  the  phenomena,  and  had  no  belief  in 
.their  reality.  Filled  as  the  age  is  with  an  utterly  mate- 
rialistic agnosticism,  I  could  hardly  expect  to  find  an 
English  solicitor  or  barrister  who  had  any  knowledge 
of  the  subject.  There  are  a  few,  I  believe  ;  but  it  was 
not  my  good  fortune  to  know  them. 

In  the  case  of  Mr.  D.  D.  Home,  the  solicitor  and 
barristers  who  defended  him  were  Spiritualists  ;  and 
many  witnesses  testified  to  the  reality  of  his  manifes- 
tations. But,  nevertheless,  he  was  compelled  to  give 
back  to  Mrs.  Lyon  the  sixty  thousand  pounds  she 
had  forced  upon  him.  In  his  case,  however,  though 
exactly  similar  to  mine,  there  was  only  a  civil  suit  in 
chancery.  Mr.  Home  was  never  prosecuted  as  a  crimi- 
nal, was  never  a  day  in  prison,  and  was  condemned  to 
no  penalty  but  the  restoration  of  the  property.  Had 
there  been  in  England  a  law  of  adoption  such  as 
exists  in  every  other  civilized  country,  Mrs.  Lyon, 
who  had  adopted  him  as  her  son,  could  not  have  capri- 
ciously abandoned  him,  and  reclaimed  her  benefactions. 

The  first  service  Mr.  Lewis  did  me  was  to  make 
such  a  representation  of  my  case  to  Mr.  Flowers  as  to 
induce  him  to  admit  me  to  bail.  Possibly  the  fact  that 
I  had  come  so  far  to  defend  nvyself  and  those  dear  to 
me  from  unfounded  accusations  may  have  had  some 
influence :  at  all  events,  Mr.  Flowers  fixed  my  bail  at 
two  thousand  pounds,  my  own  recognizances  in  one 


I   AM   ADMITTED    TO    BAIL.  149 

thousand  pounds  with  two  sureties  in  five  hundred  each. 
Two  steadfast  friends  who  had  known  me  for  years 
came  forward  to  bail  me,  —  Hensleigh  Wedgewood, 
Esq.,  a  man  of  property  and  scientific  reputation,  a 
relation  by  marriage  of  the  late  Charles  Darwin,  and 
for  fifty  years  a  London  magistrate,  and  Dr.  T.  L. 
Nichols,  the  well-known  writer  on  sanitary  and  social 
science. 

These  gentlemen  signed  my  bail-bonds,  to  the  sur- 
prise, no  doubt,  of  some  who  had  listened  to  the  rodo- 
montades of  Mr.  Abrahams  ;  and  I  was  free  to  return 
to  my  house  at  22  Gordon  Street,  and  await  the  slow 
progress  of  my  Bow-street  examinations. 

It  was  my  misfortune,  that,  a  short  time  before  this 
case  arose,  the  government  had  appointed  a  public 
prosecutor,  an  official  to  investigate  complaints,  and 
decide  what  cases  should  be  prosecuted  at  the  cost  of 
the  treasury.  As  this  is  and  has  been  the  practice 
in  all  civilized  countries  but  England,  nothing  can  be 
said  against  it.  But  at  first  it  strongly  prejudiced  every 
case  selected  for  government  prosecution  ;  because  it 
was  a  novelty,  and  because  people  naturally  thought  a 
case  selected  by  the  government  must  be  one  of  pecul- 
iar atrocity.  The  selection  of  cases  must  have  this 
effect.  The  government  should  prosecute  in  all  cases, 
as  in  America,  France,  and  other  countries,  or  not  at 
all.     Now  the  government  takes  up  sensational  cases, 


150         t        TWELVE   MONTHS    TN   PRISON. 

and  leaves  others,  quite  as  bad,  for  private  prosecution. 
The  newspapers  had  made  mine  a  sensational  case. 
The  police-reports  were  headed,  "  The  Extraordinary 
Spiritualist  Case,"  and  filled  whole  columns,  while 
an  ordinary  felony  passed  with  little  notice. 

From  whatever  motives  or  representations,  Mr. 
Henry  Vincent,  chief  of  the  Investigation  of  Crime 
Department  of  Home  Offiee,  Scotland  Yard,  decided  to 
take  up  the  case,  and  instructed  Mr.  Wontner,  the 
solicitor  of  the  treasury,  to  prosecute.  So  on  Friday, 
Jan.  21,  1882,  when  I  drove  in  the  deep  snow  to  Bow 
Street,  I  found  the  suave  Mr.  Wontner  ready  to  re- 
open the  case  ;  while  the  belligerent  Mr.  Abrahams, 
with  his  long  curved  nose  quite  out  of  joint,  yet  in- 
sisted that  he  had  a  right  to  watch  the  case  for  his 
clients,  and  do  what  he  could  to  assist  the  treasury. 
Mr.  Wontner  consented  with  a  very  bad  grace,  and 
snubbed  his  coadjutor  contemptuously.  All  this  I 
could  watch  very  well  from  my  commanding  position 
in  the  prisoner's  dock,  where  I  sat  wrapped  in  rugs, 
and  with  hot-water  bottles  at  my  feet,  kindly  brought 
me  by  a  friendly  policeman. 

"The  court,"  said  the  "Times"  report,  "was 
crowded  in  every  part  with  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
1  Spiritualist '  renown,  and  well-known  '  mediums.' 

"  Mr.  Wontner,  who  now  appeared  on  behalf  of  the 
public  prosecutor,  said  he  did  not  desire  to  again  open 


I  AM   ADMITTED   TO   BAIL.  151 

the  case,  but  he  wished  to  explain  away  some  of  the 
statements  made  by  Mr.  Abrahams,  particularly  one 
with  regard  to  '  free-love.'  Mr.  Abrahams  had  mis- 
understood what  had  been  said." 

In  his  sense  of  ''freedom,"  and  in  his  understand- 
ing of  "  love,"  Mr.  Abrahams,  as  doubtless  instructed, 
had  been  characteristically  abusive ;  but  I  think  it 
highly  improbable  that  there  was  any  "  misunder- 
standing"  in  the  matter.  The  object  of  the  prosecu- 
tion had  been  to  blacken  my  character  in  every  way, 
which  has  also  been  done  out  of  court  by  hideous  and 
persistent  slander.  Mr.  Wontner  thought  it  better  not 
to  complicate  the  case  with  irrelevant  matters. 

In  the  same  way  the  charge  of  attempting  to  mur- 
der the  prosecutrix  was  quietly  abandoned. 

Mr.  Abrahams  having  been  snubbed,  and  these  cob- 
webs brushed  away,  Mr.  Lewis  desired  to  know  what 
the  charges  against  me  really  were,  —  conspiracy,  or 
larceny,  or  what?  Mr.  Wontner  declined  to  make  an}1- 
specific  declaration  ;  and  Mr.  Flowers  decided  that  I 
was  there  to  answer  to  an}'  charge  that  might  be  pre- 
ferred against  me,  and  expressed  his  intention  to  accept 
evidence  that  was  offered  on  any  point. 

Then  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  sworn  in  her  own  pecul- 
iar fashion.  Listening  to  the  rapidly  uttered  formula, 
—  in  which  "you  solemnly  swear,  so  help  you  God  " 
runs  off  like  an  alarum,  —  instead  of  kissing,  or  pre- 


152  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

tending  to  kiss,  the  cover  of  an  unknown  book,  she 
carefully  opened  it,  and  deliberately  kissed  some  clean 
spot  on  the  printed  page.  It  was  very  carefully  done, 
but  it  did  in  no  way  hinder  her  from  making  false 
declarations. 

The  testimony  consisted  chiefly  of  readings  from 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies's  diary  (in  which  she  had  recorded 
from  memory  spirit-messages  purporting  to  come  from 
her  mother) ,  and  about  eighty  letters  said  to  have  been 
written  by  Mr.  Fletcher  or  myself.  Of  course  no 
proof  of  their  authenticity  was  given  but  the  oath  of 
the  principal,  and  really,  as  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  after- 
ward acknowledged,  the  sole  witness. 

The  following,  from  the  report  in  the  "Daily  Tele- 
graph," gives  what  the  reporter  considered  most  im- 
portant and  significant :  — 

"Witness  was  next  handed  her  diary;  and  her  attention 
was  called  to  the  following  entry :  — 

"' Spirit  flowers  and  gems.  Mamma's  spirit-flower,  lily-of -the-valley ; 
her  gem,  opal :  Percy's  spirit-flower,  Lancaster  rose;  his  gem,  ruby  :  Juliet's 
(complainant  herself)  spirit-flower,  gardenia;  her  gem,  emerald:  Julian's 
flower,  moss-rosebud;  his  gem,  moonstone:  baby  Juliet  (in  heaven),  lily-of- 
the-valley;  her  gem,  pearls.  She  wears  a  portrait  medallion  surrounded 
with  pearls;  Gasparde,  tulip  and  carbuncle.  Given  by  our  angel-mother 
through  the  claraudient  mediumship  of  Mrs.  Fletcher.' 

"  This  entry  witness  said  she  made  at  the  dictation  of  the 
defendant,  who  was  in  a  trance.  In  another  letter  Mr. 
Fletcher  said  he  was  writing  a  most  interesting  ghost-story, 
and  the  spirits  kept  interrupting  with  raps ;  one  of  their  mes- 


I  AM   ADMITTED   TO   BAIL.  153 

sages  being  to  the  effect  that  the  spirits  would  never  be  happy 
till  they  had  read  his  work.  One  of  the  most  important  of 
the  other  letters  read  contained  the  following  extract,  written 
in  a  constrained  hand  by  Mrs.  Fletcher:  — 

"•Mamma  comes  iu  just  now,  and  says,  "Burn  all  those  letters,  leaving 
not  one  vestige  of  them  escape  that  has  a  word  of  this  complication  in  it.  I 
will  satisfy  my  child's  mind  of  the  purity  of  Willie's  mind,  and  also  his 
complete  trust  in  her.  Tell  her  God  bless  her.  I  will  take  Willie's  dear 
eoul  to  her,  and  bring  hers  back  to  him,  and  love  you  all  most  tenderly  all 
the  time." ' 

"All  together,  about  eighty  letters  and  messages  were  read, 
among  them  the  following,  purporting  to  have  been  dictated 
by  spirits:  — 

SPIRIT  MESSAGES. 

Sphere  of  Rest  in  the  Spirit  World. 
Mt  loved  Child,  —  My  thoughts  are  ever  with  you,  and  the  arms  of 
my  spirit  infold  you.  I  try  to  breathe  life  and  strength  into  you,  that  you 
may  yet  feel  the  happiness  of  life.  You  are  never  alone  unseen  :  ours  watch 
and  guard,  and  blend  their  life  with  yours.  The  struggles  of  life  are  pass- 
ing. Soon  the  trials  will  be  over,  and  then  I  shall  bring  all  my  loved  of 
earth  together  for  a  season  of  sweet  enjoyment.  There  were  no  tokens  of 
love  that  I  could  give  to  my  loved  ones  this  Christmas  time ;  but  I  breathed 
my  blessing  over  each  dear  life,  and  treasured  the  pure  blossoms  of  the 
spirit  around  them,  for  human  loves  seem  very  weak  compared  to  that  which 
now  fills  up  my  life  and  thoughts  :  and  the  old  year  is  dying.  With  it  may 
your  pains  cease,  and  your  troubles  pass  away !  May  the  new  year  bring 
happiness  for  my  dear  ones!  Do  not  be  troubled  by  the  lack  of  sympathy 
aunt  and  others  of  her  kind  may  manifest.  They  belong  to  a  different  world. 
It  was  always  so.  Heaven's  sunshine  face,  warm  and  bright,  around  three. 
Your  loving  mother,  Theiiis. 

22  Gordon  Street,  Gordon  Square,  W.  C, 
January, 1880. 
My  dearest  Juliet,  —  Once  more  I  raise  the  pen  of  a  loved  one  to 
commune  with  you,  and  to  try  and  give  your  poor  heart  hope  and  courage, 


154  TWELVE    MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

that  you  may  endure  life's  troubles  to  the  end,  that  you  may  bear  the  cross 
uncomplainingly,  and  thereby  be  made  ready  for  heaven's  blessed  rest  and 
peace.  Let  your  heart  rest  content.  I  am  ever  guarding  and  guiding  you, 
and  holding  sweet  communion  with  your  spirit.  As  to  aunt,  why  trouble? 
She  is  not  an  accountable  being,  and  has  never  had  any  sympathy  with  us. 
To  her  we  were  another  race  of  beings,  and  belonged  to  a  different  sphere, 
with  which  she  has  not  the  smallest  feeling  in  common.  "We  must  not 
expect  "  figs  from  thistles."  To  a  common  nature  like  hers  the  letter  was 
only  wasted.  The  vulgarity  was  not  apparent.  Remembering  this,  it  is  far 
better  to  ignore  that  which,  as  my  daughter,  you  cannot  condescend  to 
notice.  I  am  glad  to  find  your  heart  happier.  The  warm  spring-time  will 
soon  be  here.  May  it  bring  happiness  and  health  to  all  my  loved  ones! 
God's  blessing  be  ever  with  thee  is  thy  mother's  prayer. 

Hampton  House,  Bushey  Park,  Hampton  Court,  S.W. 
Angels'  greetings  to  you,  my  loved  one.  Sweet  child  of  mine,  I  breathe 
forth  my  love  and  blessing;  fori  have  felt  your  warm  and  true  love  about 
me,  and  knew  there  was  one  of  my  earthly  children  who  remembered  me, 
who  treasured  thoughts  of  the  past,  while  Willie  and  Bertie  have  both  held 
in  sweet  reverence  the  day  and  my  memory.  I  fell  to  write  to  you  upon 
this  paper.  But  how  the  recollections  flow  in  upon  me  as  I  see  the  well- 
remembered  name!  — joys  that  are  past,  friends  lost  to  sight,  sorrows  whose 
stings  still  remain,  all  pass  before  me;  then  the  blessed  change  from  the 
land  of  winter  to  the  land  of  summer  sunshine,  from  darkness  unto  light; 
and  then  the  long,  weary  nights  of  pain  which  followed,  when  my  earthly 
loved  ones  were  made  to  suffer  and  endure,  and  deceit  and  wrong  seemed  to 
rise  up  on  every  side;  and  then,  blessed  privilege!  I  was  permitted  to  return 
to  them,  aud  breathe  the  thoughts  and  desires  of  my  life  upon  them.  Oh, 
eweet  one,  can  I  ever  tell  you  how  happy  it  has  made  me  to  be  with  you, 
and  read  your  every  thought  and  purpose!  The  cross  laid  upon  you  is 
changing,  and  ere  loug  the  tired  head  will  find  rest.  Would  that  life  could 
bring  in  the  knowledge  that  comes  after  life !  would  that  I  could  have  under- 
stood you  then  as  now !  We  shall  one  day  stand  side  by  side,  and  reap  then 
the  blessings  and  joys  that  were  denied  to  us  on  earth.  I  know  that  Bertie 
and  Willie  will  do  all  that  loving  hearts  can  suggest  to  make  the  sweet  one 
happy  and  peaceful.  1  have  looked  upon  Percy  to-day  :  he  lives  in  the  pres- 
ent, not  the  past  or  the  future.    Sweet  child,  God's  blessing  fall  upon  you ! 


I   AM   ADMITTED   TO   BAIL.  155 

Mother's  love  will  ever  be  about  you  and  earthly  friends.  Show  childish 
trust  of  future,  and  I  will  bear  thee  safely  through  with  the  love  of 
Themis. 

It  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  Mrs.  Ilart-Davies  at 
this  time  professed  to  be,  and  appeared  to  be,  an 
enthusiastic  Spiritualist,  and  that  she  also  believed 
herself  to  be  a  medium,  and  that  she  professed  to  have 
seen  and  had  communication  with  her  departed  mother 
before  she  ever  came  to  us.  She  was  and  is,  no 
doubt,  highly  imaginative,  with  a  poetical  tempera- 
ment. 

I  give  these  specimens  of  the  testimony  now,  but 
will  reserve  the  rest,  as  the  whole  case  was  necessarily 
and  very  tiresomely  gone  over  again  in  the  trial  at  the 
Central  Criminal  Court,  which  ended  in  my  conviction. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 


A    CROSS-EXAMINATION. 


On  Jan.  22,  1880,  the  streets  of  London  were 
almost  impassable  from  the  depth  of  snow.  A  favorite 
actress,  unable  to  get  cab  or  carriage,  was  taken  to 
her  theatre  in  a  Pickford's  van.  With  some  difficulty 
I  made  my  way  to  Bow  Street  in  a  brougham,  provided 
by  a  friend  whose  kindness  was  the  more  watchful,  the 
more  it  was  needed  ;  and  I  had  my  usual  escort,  a 
friend  who  stood  beside  me  from  first  to  last,  —  from 
the  outer  door  through  the  dim  crowd  of  curious  spec- 
tators, to  my  place  of  honor,  the  prisoner's  dock. 

"The  Extraordinary  Charge  against  Spiritual- 
ists ' '  headed  the  attractive  column  in  the  newspapers 
with  "  world-wide  circulation,"  or  "  the  largest  circu- 
lation in  the  world." 

"  The  court  was  more  crowded  than  on  the  previous 
day. 

"  On  the  sitting  of  the  Court,  the  complainant  was 
again  placed  in  the  witness-box,  and  her  cross-exami- 
nation by  Mr.  Edward  Lewis  at  once  proceeded  with. 
156 


A   CROSS-EXAMINATION.  157 

"Witnesses  on  both  sides  were  ordered  out  of 
court." 

Dr.  Mack  marched  out  unwillingly  ;  while  Mr.  Har- 
rison, editor  of  the  "Spiritualist,"  who  had  secured 
a  good  place  behind  the  government  solicitor,  refused 
to  go  at  all.  Mr.  Lewis  insisted ;  Mr.  Abrahams 
warmly  defended  his  right  to  remain  ;  Mr.  Wontner 
did  not  thank  Mr.  Abrahams  for  his  interference. 
After  a  while  Mr.  Harrison  indignantly  marched  out ; 
and  Mr.  Lewis  began  his  cross-examination,  which  I 
give  as  it  was  very  much  condensed  in  the  report  of 
the  "  Daily  Telegraph." 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  cross-examined  by  Mr.  Lewis,  said,  I  see 
no  reason  to  modify  the  evidence  I  gave  on  the  second  occa- 
sion. It  has  been  modified  by  Mr.  Wontner,  and  I  wish  it  to 
remain  as  it  now  stands.  I  adhere  in  all  respects  to  my  evi- 
dence given  on  the  first  occasion,  when  I  was  examined  by  Mr. 
Wontner,  both  as  to  the  facts  as  to  which  I  deposed  and  the 
opinions  I  then  expressed.  I  then  said  that  through  Mr. 
Fletcher  I  had  re-found  my  mother.  That  is  the  present  state 
of  my  belief,  very  much  modified.  I  still  believe  I  had  found 
my  dear  mother.  I  do  not  wish  to  modify  that  part  of  the 
statement.  When  I  said  I  found  my  mother,  I  did  not  mean  it 
in  the  sense  that  I  could  communicate  with  her.  I  meant  that 
it  was  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Fletcher  that  I  learned  for  the  first 
time  the  glorious  truth  of  the  actual  presence  of  the  dead  here 
with  us.  I  did  not  mean  that  wholly  in  the  sense  of  being 
able  to  communicate  with  them,  but  partly  in  that  sense. 

In  what  other  sense  ?  —  That,  under  certain  conditions,  they 


158  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

may  have  the  power  of  communicating  with  living  persons. 
I  was  a  neophyte  at  that  time,  and  knew  very  little  ahout 
the  matter. 

Do  you  at  this  moment  conscientiously  helieve  that  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  have  the  power  of  communicating  with 
mortals?  —  Under  certain  circumstances. 

Do  you  believe  that  the  spirit  of  your  departed  mother  has 
the  power  of  communicating  with  you?  —  Under  certain  cir- 
cumstances she  may.  1  do  not  know  whether  all  spirits  have 
the  power. 

Do  you  helieve  that  your  departed  mother  has  communicated 
with  you  ?  —  Yes ;  modified. 

What  do  you  mean  by  modified  ?  —  Because,  since  the  first 
communications  of  my  mother,  I  have  learned  to  consult  my 
common  sense. 

When  did  you  first  learn  that?  —  My  eyes  were  opened  on 
my  way  to  America. 

Has  your  common  sense  increased  since  the  21st  of  last 
month,  when  you  were  examined  here?  — I  hope  it  may 
always  increase. 

By  the  way,  what  is  your  age  ?  —  Thirty-eight. 

Is  the  state  of  your  belief  in  the  same  state  as  it  was  on 
Dec.  21  ?  —  It  is  in  statu  quo. 

Did  you  on  Dec.  21  avow  that  you  knew  your  mother  had 
been  present  with  you?  —  To  the  best  of  my  belief  she  had 
been.  I  did  not  say  Fletcher  was  in  a  state  of  clairvoyance. 
Trance  was  the  word  I  used.  I  spoke  of  my  mother  and  the 
veneration  I  had  for  her.  There  is  a  difference  between  clair- 
voyance and  trance.  In  a  trance  one  is  unconscious,  but 
clairvoyance  is  merely  second  sight.  I  believe  in  clairvoyance. 
I  did  say  I  believed  Fletcher  had  derived  his  information  about 
me  by  clairvoyance.  That  belief  is  very  much  modified.  I 
made  the  case  in  my  evidence  as  mild  as  I  possibly  could. 


A   CROSS-EXAMINATION.  159 

Have  you  altered  your  determination  to  make  it  as  mild 
as  you  can  ?  —  That  depends  upon  the  cross-examination. 
[Laughter.] 

Mr.  Lewis.  — You  will  not  deter  me  from  doing  my  duty. 
I  know  the  weapons  I  have  in  my  hand.  A  number  of  letters 
were  read  yesterday:  are  those  the  only  ones  you  received 
from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher?  —  They  are  all  that  I  can  find. 
Possibly  I  received  others.  I  was  surprised  at  so  many  being 
preserved.  According  to  the  best  of  my  belief,  the  letter  of 
June  30,  1S79,  was  the  first  I  received  from  Mr.  or  Mrs. 
Fletcher.  I  certainly  did  not  receive  over  two  hundred  letters 
from  them.  One  or  two  letters  were  destroyed  by  the  orders 
of  Mrs.  Fletcher,  which  I  obeyed  as  I  would  have  obeyed  a 
sister's  orders.  When  I  visited  Mrs.  Fletcher's  house  in  Gor- 
don Street  I  swear  I  did  not  remove  a  single  letter  that  I  had 
written  to  her. 

Mr.  Lewis  handed  the  witness  a  number  of  letters,  which 
were  identified  by  her  as  being  in  her  handwriting. 

Cross-Examination  continued.  — I  was  not  a  believer  in  Spir- 
itualism as  taught  by  Spiritualists  until  I  met  the  Fletchers. 
I  was  unconsciously  a  Spiritualist.  I  seem  to  have  been 
standing  at  the  gates  all  my  life.  I  accept  Spiritualism  in  its 
higher  phases.  I  believe  in  the  immortality  of  souls,  and  the 
presence  of  the  departed  amongst  us,  and  in  progress  in  our 
after-life. 

Is  that  Spiritualism  ?  —  It  is,  in  the  higher  phases. 

On  how  many  occasions  do  you  claim  your  mother  held 
converse  with  you  ? —  Claim!  I  make  no  claim.  I  remember. 
She  held  converse  with  me  on  three  successive  nights. 

Did  you  communicate  that  fact  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  ? 
—  Xo  doubt,  at  some  time  or  other.  These  apparitions  of  my 
mother  occurred  about  the  year  1876.     I  saw  the  spirit,  but  did 


160  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

not  speak  to  it.  It  appeared  to  me  as  a  vision,  and  spoke  to 
me.  Such  an  occurrence  may  have  come  to  me  subsequently, 
as  it  does  to  other  people,  in  dreams. 

Do  you  mean  these  were  dreams?  —  I  don't  know.  They 
may  have  been.  I  was  in  my  bed.  I  don't  remember  whether 
such  a  thing  has  occurred  when  I  have  been  up  and  about-.  I 
will  undertake  to  swear  I  have  not  written  to  Mrs.  Fletcher 
giving  her  a  message  I  had  received  from  my  mother.  I  am 
not  a  medium.  I  have  not  received  such  messages.  Since 
187G  I  have  had  what  appeared  to  be  a  vision  of  my  mother. 
When  I  was  ill  in  Tours,  she  seemed  to  come  to  take  me  away 
or  comfort  me.  I  was  alone,  abroad,  and  ill.  It  is  possible  I 
may  have  asserted  that  my  mother  appeared  to  me  in  a  vision 
in  1879.  I  have  always  asserted  it  was  in  a  vision  or  a  dream. 
I  do  not  remember  whether  I  have  ever  stated  that  my  mother 
appeared  to  me  while  I  was  awake  and  in  the  act  of  writing. 
I  do  not  remember  the  fact.  (A  letter  dated  Sept.  3,  1879, 
was  then  handed  to  witness.)  I  remember  that  letter.  I  was 
staying  with  my  aunt  at  Sandgate.  I  remember  the  whole 
thing  now.  My  mother's  presence  seemed  to  be  around  me  as 
a  breath  of  air.  I  believed  that  then.  I  felt  a  sort  of  happi- 
ness. 

Mr.  Flowers.  —  Half  the  poets  in  the  world  have  felt  that 
sort  of  thing.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Lewis  then  read  the  letter,  which  referred  to  witness's 
cool  reception  by  her  aunt  and  the  company  in  the  house  at 
Sandgate,  and  stated  how,  not  listening  to  the  conversation, 
she  held  silent  and  unsuspected  communion  with  her  mother, 
whose  soft,  familiar  breath  she  felt  upon  her  hands.  It  also 
spoke  of  the  dear  brother  and  sister  who  had  led  her  back  to 
her  mother. 

Mr.  Flowers  thought  that  a  letter  that  might  very  well  have 


A   CROSS-EXAMINATION.  1(31 

been  read  by  the  prosecution.  He  hoped  Mr.  Lewis  would  not 
unnecessarily  prolong  the  case. 

Mr.  Lewis  said  he  must  make  a  foundation  for  a  perfectly 
serious  cross-examination  upon  the  facts.  He  suggested  this 
as  a  convenient  time  for  an  adjournment. 

Mr.  Flowers  said  there  was  other  business  before  the  Court, 
and  consented  to  the  adjournment." 

It  was  Mr.  Lewis's  object  to  show  that  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  had  been  a  Spiritualist,  and  believed  herself  to 
be  a  medium,  long  before  she  had  become  acquainted 
with  us  ;  that  we  had  not  led  her  into  this  belief.  Mr. 
Harrison  has,  since  the  trial,  published  a  letter  from 
Mrs.  Davies,  giving  some  of  her  spiritual  experiences 
at  a  date  anterior  to  our  acquaintance. 

It  was  evident  from  the  beginning,  that  Mr.  Flowers 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  send  the  case  to  the  Criminal 
Court  for  trial.  The  fact  that  the  government  had 
adopted  the  prosecution  probably  had  its  influence : 
therefore  he  hoped  that  Mr.  Lewis  would  not  unneces- 
sarily prolong  the  case.  But  Mr.  Lewis  had  a  conscience 
in  the  matter,  a  professional  conscience,  which  urged 
him  to  do  his  duty  to 'his  client ;  and  he  also  held  in  his 
hands  documentary  proofs  of  the  true -character  of  the 
prosecutrix,  which  would  have  proved  her  to  be  among 
the  lowest  of  even  abandoned  women,  and  which  he 
thought  necessary  to  my  defence  to  lay  before  the 
public.     It  was  an  error  of  judgment  on  his  part.     He 


162  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PIIISON. 

had  no  idea  of  the  prejudice,  the  vindictive  hatred,  of 
a  large  portion  of  the  public  against  Spiritualism  :  to 
them  it  did  not  matter  what  she  was  ;  my  character 
alone  being  criticised. 

To  him  it  was  a  delusion  :  to  a  vast  number,  the 
feeling  against  it  is  the  hereditary  feeling  that  made 
the  people  of  England  and  America  hang  or  burn 
witches.  The  last  witch  was  burned  in  Scotland  in 
1710.  Sir  Matthew  Hale  sentenced  witches  to  death 
much  later.  Since  I  have  been  in  England,  a  poor 
old  man  was  driven  into  a  pond  and  drowned  by  a  mob 
of  people  who  believed  him  to  be  a  wizard. 

An  Act  of  Parliament  passed  in  the  reign  of  George 
III.  makes  the  pretence  of  witchcraft,  sorcery,  etc.,  a 
misdemeanor  punishable  with  a  year's  imprisonment; 
and  the  ninth  count  of  the  indictment  found  against 
me  by  an  English  grand  jury  —  probabl}'  without  read- 
ing, or  hearing  it  read,  but  simplj-  because  it  had  been 
drawn  up  by  the  solicitor  of  the  treasuiy  —  charged 
me  with  this  terrible  offence  of  pretending  to  be  a  sor- 
ceress. It  is  true  that  some  newspapers  ridiculed  it ; 
but  the  old  anti-witchcraft  feeling,  which  destroyed 
millions  of  probably  innocent  men,  women,  and  even 
children,  all  over  Europe,  now  active  against  Spiritu- 
alism, was  the  basis  of  my  prosecution,  and  secured 
my  conviction. 

On  Jan.  28  Mr.  Lewis  was  too  ill  to  attend  at  Bow 


A   CROSS-EXAMINATION.  163 

Street.  His  clerk  asked  for  an  adjournment ;  but  Mr. 
Wontner,  the  government  prosecutor,  would  not  con- 
sent. Mr.  James  McGeary,  alias  Dr.  Mack,  gave  his 
testimony  at  length,  proving  the  surrender  of  all  the 
property  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  in  our  possession  in 
America,  the  prompt  and  cheerful  surrender  on  our 
part,  and  the  arrest  of  himself  and  Mrs.  Davies  for 
some  portion  of  their  proceedings.  He  testified,  that, 
though  under  bonds  of  forty  thousand  dollars  to  answer 
for  this  in  America,  he  came  to  London  to  see  after  the 
property  here  ;  that  Mrs.  Davies  followed  him  ;  that  he 
consulted  with  the  officials  at  Scotland  Yard,  who  were 
not  then  inclined  to  interfere  in  the  matter.  Then  he 
went  to  Mr.  Abrahams;  and,  acting  under  his  advice, 
he  went  with  him  to  22  Gordon  Street,  Gordon  Square, 
and  was  present  while  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  removed 
her  property  —  as  well  as  our  letters,  and  many  other 
things  which  never  belonged  to  her. 

The  last  witness  this  day  was  Mr.  Shrives,  who 
arrested  me  at  Greenock,  and  escorted  me  to  London. 

Mr.  Wontner  here  asked  for  an  order  from  the  mads- 
trate  to  enable  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  and  the  police  to  search 
the  property  now  at  the  Pantechnicon.  The  managers 
of  that  place  refused  to  allow  such  a  search  without  an 
order  from  the  magistrate. 

Mr.  Flowers  expressed  his  willingness  to  grant  the 
order. 


164  TYvTELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Mr.  Wontner  said,  that,  subject  to  the  cross-exami- 
nation, that  would  be  the  case. 

The  further  hearing  was  then  adjourned  for  a  fort- 
night to  enable  Mr.  Lewis  to  attend. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CROSS-EXAMINATION    CONTINUED. 

The  case  of  the  government  had  been  completed. 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  the  only  witness  of  the  least  impor- 
tance, had  given  her  testimony,  and  been  bound  over, 
in  her  own  recognizances  of  a  thousand  pounds,  to 
appear  at  the  Criminal  Court  as  a  witness  ;  and  I  had 
been  formally  remanded  to  allow  Mr.  Lewis  to  cross- 
examine  this  witness. 

The   course  now  decided  upon  by  Mr.   Lewis,   as 
absolutely  necessary  to  my  defence,  was  a  very  pain- 
ful one  to  all  concerned.     I  had  received  this  woman 
as  a  sister  :  I  had  loved  her  and  trusted  her.     I  knew 
something  of  her  past  life  and  of  her  peculiar  tem- 
perament, and  what  I  regarded  as  a  diseased  condi- 
tion.    It  was  not  for  me  to  condemn  her,  but  to  do  my 
best  to  save  her.     I  pitied  her  deeply  before  she  had 
so   utterly   debased   herself   in   every   one's   eyes.     I 
thought  that  if  I,  and   a   few  devoted  women  whom 
I  knew,  could  put  strong  and  loving  arms  around  her, 

165 


166  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

she  might  be  saved  from  evil  impulses,  and  become, 
with  her  bright  intelligence,  a  blessing  to  the  world. 

After  she  had  turned  against  us,  by  a  strange 
chance  a  packet  of  papers  belonging  to  a  gentleman 
with  whom  she  had  been  criminally  intimate  came  into 
the  possession  of  my  solicitor. 

These  letters  were  used  with  the  full  knowledge  of 
their  former  owner,  as  he  believed  that  he  had  been 
one  of  the  unwitting  causes  of  my  misfortune.  It  was 
her  jealousy,  her  foolish,  groundless,  wicked  jealousy 
of  him,  he  believed,  that  had  made  her  turn  against 
me,  and  filled  her  with  a  desire  to  be  revenged. 

Who  that  has  read  my  story  carefully  will  feel  in- 
clined to  believe  that  any  good  motive  caused  her,  or 
would  induce  any  one  possessed  of  the  fine,  modest, 
delicate  feelings  for  which  women  are  especially  be- 
loved, to  betray  the  family  with  whom  they  have  lived 
and  professed  to  love  ;  to  appear  for  da}Ts  and  weeks 
in  the  loathsome  precincts  of  a  police-court,  and  to  be 
the  meaus  of  condemning  one  of  her  own  sex  to  the 
greatest  misery  the  law  can  inflict? 

It  is  frequently  alleged  against  women,  that  they  are 
lamentably  bitter  against  each  other ;  and,  with  exam- 
ples like  Mrs.  Davies,  who  can  reasonably  deny  the 
charge? 

Mrs.  Davies  did  not  love  her  husband,  from  whom 
she  was  soon  divorced  ;  and  her  letters  were  full  of 


CROSS-EXAMINATION    CONTINUED.  167 

love  —  a  sort  of  love,  at  least  —  for  the  courteous 
young  Swede.  They  were  illustrated  with  drawings 
not  without  artistic  merit,  but  not  more  modest  than 
her  words. 

I  was  at  first  inclined  to  put  all  these  letters  and 
drawings  in  the  fire ;  they  were  really  not  fit  for  any 
thing  else  :  and,  had  it  been  me  only  that  this  woman 
was  attacking,  I  think  I  should  have  followed  my  first 
impulse.  But  through  me  she  was  injuring  Spiritu- 
alism, the  cause  I  love  more  than  life  ;  and  my  sense 
of  justice  to  others,  which  was  very  strong,  induced 
me  to  let  the  Court  know  the  character  of  their  only 
witness. 

The  cross-examination  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  revealed 
enough  of  her  life  and  character  to  show  her  an  utterly 
untrustworthy  person,  and  to  suggest  explanations  for 
her  extraordinary  conduct  towards  me.  Being  pressed 
to  answer,  she  admitted  that  her  first  husband,  Francis 
Rickard,  was  still  living,  and  that  "he  and  her  fami- 
ly "  procured  the  divorce.  That  the  ground  for  divorce 
was  adultery  on  her  part  there  could  be  no  manner  of 
doubt ;  for  after  many  evasions  she  said,  in  answer  to 
the  repeated  question,  "I  refuse  to  answer  it."  The 
magistrate  protected  her,  and  she  avoided  an  open 
confession.  -  Mr.  Lewis  then  showed  her  a  letter  (one 
of  the  series  which  so  entirely  compromised  her),  and, 
having  secured  the  admission  that  bhe  wrote  it,  was 


168  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

proceeding  to  question  her  upon  the  terms  of  affec- 
tion employed,  when  the  prosecutor  objected  that  the 
question  and  the  proposed  line  of  defence  were  inad- 
missible. Mr.  Lewis  urged  that  the  antecedents  of  the 
prosecutrix  were  of  vital  importance  to  the  defence. 
He  assured  the  magistrate  that  it  could  be  shown 
that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  wholly  out  of  the  pale 
of  good  society,  alone,  and  without  a  friend  in  the 
world ;  that  she  had  obtained  an  introduction  to  the 
Fletchers  by  stratagem  ;  that  the  Fletchers  were  visited 
by  people  of  the  highest  position,  and  that  the  prose- 
cutrix desired  above  all  things  to  insinuate  herself  into 
such  society  ;  that  the  deed  of  gift  was  prepared  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  defendant,  and  the  accept- 
ance of  the  property  was  forced  upon  her  and  her 
husband ;  and  that  it  was  only  ultimately,  upon  the 
express  understanding  and  bargain  that  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  should  be  received  into  the  house  of  the 
Fletchers  free  of  expense,  that  the  property  was  handed 
over.  He  believed  the  questions  which  he  proposed 
to  put  were  relevant  and  admissible,  but  confessed  that 
they  were  at  the  same  time  within  the  discretion  of 
the  magistrate.  Mr.  Flowers  decided  against  the  ques- 
tions, and  would  not  allow  the  letters  in  evidence. 

Mr.  Lewis  thereupon,  being  unable  to  present  the 
facts  under  the  ruling  of  the  magistrate,  said  that 
there  would  be  nothing  to  be  gained  by  the  cross- ex- 


CROSS-EXAMINATION   CONTINUED.  169 

animation  of  other  witnesses,  nor  by  calling  any  for 

the  defence. 

I  was  then  formally  committed  for  trial  at  the  next 
sessions  of  the  Central  Criminal  Court,  and  was  al- 
lowed out  on  the  same  bail  as  before  for  my  appear- 
ance. 

The  cross-examination,  and  the  arguments  and  pro- 
ceedings following,  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


INFLUENCE    OF   THE    PRESS. 


It  is  a  rule  of  the  English  press,  generally  and 
properly  observed,  to  make  no  comments  on  a  case 
while  it  is  sub  judice.  Certainly  it  would  be  wrong  to 
influence  judge  or  jury.  But  a  whole  community  is 
often  intensely  excited  and  deeply  prejudiced  b}'  the 
first,  often  erroneous  and  generally  exaggerated,  ac- 
count of  a  crime  supposed  to  have  been  committed. 
All  the  mischief  may  be  done  before  a  suspected  crim- 
inal is  arrested.  The  report  of  a  coroner's  inquest  has 
in  many  instances  settle'd  the  fate  of  a  supposed  mur- 
derer. A  sensational  police-report,  or  mere  descrip- 
tion of  a  crime,  has  prevented  the  possibility  of  an 
impartial  trial. 

In  my  own  case  the  wild  statements  of  Mr.  Abra- 
hams (even  those  afterwards  withdrawn),  read  in  mil- 
lions of  newspapers,  were  generally  believed.  There 
was  no  doubt  that  I  professed  to  be  a  Spiritualist  and 
a  medium.  That  alone  was  sufficient  with  a  large 
majority  to  convict  me  of  being  an  impostor.  If  I 
170 


INFLUENCE   OF   THE   PRESS.  171 

would  deceive  people  by  pretending  to  get  messages 
from  their  departed  friends,  why  not  get  money  by 
other  false  pretences?  If  I  were  in  the  practice  of 
getting  guineas  by  such  frauds,  why  not  thousands 
of  pounds  if  I  found  the  opportunity  ?  And,  if  I  were 
so  base  as  to  take  such  advantage  of  ignorance  and 
credulity,  was  it  likely  that  I  would  stop  at  murder 
if  it  became  necessary?  Mr.  Abrahams  knew  very 
well  what  he  was  about.  But  perhaps  this  is  a  good 
place  to  say  that  I  at  no  time  gave  professional  seances 
in  London. 

There  were  at  this  time  three  Spiritualist  papers 
in  London.  The  oldest  of  these,  the  "Medium  and 
Daybreak,"  edited  by  Mr.  James  Burns,  was  consist- 
ently silent.  So  far  as  it  had  taken  sides,  it  was  the 
side  of  Dr.  Mack  (McGeary) . 

The  "Spiritualist,"  Mr.  Harrison's  paper,  since 
defunct,  took  up  the  cause  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  with 
peculiar  malignity.  Events  have  since  revealed  the 
editor's  professed  affection  for  Mrs.  Davies ;  and  now 
my  intelligent  readers  will  readily  perceive  the  cause 
of  this  partisanship. 

The  new  paper,  "Light,"  was  held  in  a  neutral 
position  by  a  divided  opinion  or  feeling  among  its 
shareholders.  Some  were  warmly  for  us,  and  some 
bitterly  against.  1  have  no  better  friends  than  some 
of  its  contributors,  and  no  more  bitter  or  mischievous 


172  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PEISON. 

enemies  than  others.  Thus  there  was  little  of  aid  or 
comfort  to  be  expected  from  Spiritualist  papers  in 
England.  In  America  I  was  persistently  and  consist- 
ently denounced  by  the  "Chicago  Spiritualist  Jour- 
nal," which  is  noted  for  its  denunciations  of  suspected 
mediums,  while  I  have  had  the  generous  support  of, 
I  believe,  ever}T  other,  especially  the  "Banner  of 
Light"  (Boston),  "Mind  and  Matter"  (Philadel- 
phia) ,  "  Miller's  Psychometric  Journal  "  (New  York) . 

The  first  notice  of  my  prosecution  in  England 
which  was  sent  to  America,  so  far  as  I  know,  was  in 
a  letter  from  Dr.  Nichols  to  the  "Banner  of  Light," 
which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  It  is  printed  to 
show  how  m}'  case  seemed  to  a  personal  friend,  and  a 
Spiritualist  who  had  for  twenty-five  years  given  the 
phenomena  of  Spiritualism  a  careful  investigation. 

The  letter  begins  by  referring  to  the  proceedings 
against  Home  and  Slade,  and  relates  the  history  of 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies's  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Fletcher  and 
myself,  and  of  the  unusual  intimacy  that  followed. 
Dr.  Nichols  expressly  acquits  me  of  blame,  but  thinks 
I  was  not  prudent  or  worldly-wise,  because  I  should 
have  foreseen  what  might  happen  on  the  part  of  such 
an  unstable  friend.  He  praises  my  intrepidity  in  going 
to  meet  my  accusers,  and  gives  an  account  of  my  ex- 
amination, with  which  the  reader  is  already  acquainted. 
He   hopes   there  will   be   a   full   and   fair  trial,   and 


INFLUENCE   OF   THE  PRESS.  173 

declares  that  the  facts  of  Spiritualism  can  be  estab- 
lished by  hundreds  of  witnesses  of  the  highest  credi- 
bility. 

My  friend  has  rightly  understood  my  motives  in 
coming  to  England  to  meet  my  trial,  and  endure  my 
punishment.  I  did  what  I  felt  impelled  to  do.  I  did 
what  my  spirit-friends  wished  me  to  do.  Spirits  are 
not  infallible.  Some  spirits  are  neither  wise  nor  good. 
But  those  who  are  good  and  wise  see  much  farther 
into  the  future  than  we  can  see,  and  I  believe  it  is 
safest  and  best  to  follow  their  guidance. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FORTY   YARDS    OF   INDICTMENT. 

The  indictment  drawn  by  the  well-paid  solicitors  of 
the  treasury  was  an  enormous  document.  As  a  rule, 
government  officials  are  not  troubled  with  ideas  of 
economy.  The  wealth  of  a  great  empire  was  at  their 
disposal ;  and  they  managed  to  cover  sixty  sheets  of 
parchment,  making  a  roll  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
long,  filled  with  my  offences  against  "Our  Sovereign 
Lady  the  Queen,  her  Crown  and  Dignity." 

When  this  great  and  costly  parchment  —  nothing  so 
cheap  as  paper  would  answer  — was  unrolled  in  court, 
and  ran  all  about,  like  an  immense  boa-constrictor, 
among  the  barristers,  it  made  a  great  impression  on 
the  jury,  as  well  as  upon  the  spectators.  "Well  it 
might,  for  they  all  had  to  pay  their  share  of  its  cost. 

In  the  first  count,  it  is  charged  that  the  three  defend- 
ants conspired  to  get  possession  of  the  jewelry  of  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies,  by  means  of  the  false  pretence  that  her 
deceased  mother  had  made  communications  through 
Mr.  Fletcher,  in  which  she,  the  daughter,  was  advised 
174 


FORTY  YARDS   OF   INDICTMENT.  175 

and  requested  to  bestow  the  articles  upon  Mrs. 
Fletcher.     A  very  long  list  of  articles  is  subjoined. 

In  the  second  count  the  charge  is  conspiracy  to  cheat 
and  defraud  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  of  certain  laces  and 
articles  of  clothing  by  means  of  the  same  false  pretence 
as  alleged  in  the  first  count  (with  some  additions  con- 
cerning "  magnetic  influences  "). 

The  third  count  is  a  variation  upon  the  same  theme, 
alleging  similar  pretences  to  obtain  from  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  the  deed  of  gift.  In  each  of  the  counts  in 
which  the  false  pretences  are  charged,  the  negation  is 
in  similar  words  ;  viz.,  "  Whereas,  in  truth  and  in  fact, 
the  said  "  defendants  "  had  not  then  the  power  to  com- 
municate with  or  to  receive  communications  from  the 
said  spirit  of  the  said  A.  Heurtley,  then  deceased;  and 
ivhereas  the  said"  defendants  "had  not  lately  before 
then  had  any  communications  with,  or  received  any 
messages  from,  the  said  A.  Heurtley,  then  dead;  and 
whereas  the  said  A.  Heurtley,  then  dead,  had  not  lately 
before  then,  and  after  her  said  death,  through  the 
medium  of  the  said  S.  W.  Fletcher,  sent  a  message  to 
the  said"  3frs.  Hart-Davies,  "  directing  her  to  share 
her  property,"  etc. 

The  fourth  count  charges  the  defendants  generally 
with  conspiracy,  by  false  pretences  and  by  "  artful  and 
subtle  stratagems  and  devices,"  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  property  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  to  cheat  and 
defraud  her  of  the  same. 


176  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

The  fifth  count  is  almost  a  repetition  of  the  fourth. 

The  sixth  count  charges  the  defendants  with  con- 
spiring to  steal  the  same  property. 

The  seventh  count  alleges  *a  conspiracy  in  regard  to 
the  deed  of  gift,  and  varies  but  little  from  the  third 
count,  omitting  only  the  alleged  message  from  Mrs.  A. 
Heurtley. 

The  eighth  count  alleges  a  conspiracy  to  induce  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  to  execute  a  will  in  favor  of  defendants 
(the  Fletchers)  with  intent  to  defraud  the  legal  heirs 
of  their  just  expectations. 

The  ninth  count  I  copy  in  full  F — 

"And  the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon  their  oath  aforesaid,  do 
further  present  that  the  said  Susan  Willis  Fletcher,  John  Wil- 
liam Fletcher,  and  Francis  Morton,  on  the  day  first  aforesaid, 
and  on  divers  other  days  thereafter,  in  the  county  aforesaid, 
and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  said  court,  unlawfully  did 
pretend  (to  wit,  to  the  said  Juliet  Anne  Theodora  Heurtley 
Hart-Davies)  to  exercise  and  use  divers  kinds  of  witchcraft, 
sorcery,  enchantment,  and  conjuration,  against  the  form  of  the 
statute  in  such  case  made  and  provided,  against  the  peace  of 
our  said  lady  the  Queen,  her  Crown  and  Dignity." 

Some  careless  readers  of  this  count  may  have  sup- 
posed that  the  ancient  laws  against  witchcraft  and 
sorcery  had  been  revived  for  my  benefit ;  but  the 
offence  charged  is  pretending  to  the  possession  of  powers 
which  every  spiritual  medium  is  known  to  possess. 

The  reader  will  see  that  the  real  charge  against  me 


FORTY   YARDS   OF    INDICTMENT.  177 

was  that  I  professed  to  be  a  Spiritualist,  and  that  I 
falsely  pretended  to  have  received,  or  to  have  been  the 
medium  of,  communications  and  messages  from  a  mother 
in  the  spirit- world  to  her  child. 

It  is  evident  that  my  only  defence  was  to  prove  to 
the  jury  that  such  messages  and  communications  from 
the  so-called  dead  to  the  living  are  a  reality.  I  could 
have  called  a  hundred  witnesses  to  prove  this  fact,  — 
noblemen,  noble  ladies,  men  of  science,  intelligent 
and  in  every  wa}~  unimpeachable  witnesses,  whose  tes- 
timony would  have  been  received  in  an}'  court  of  jus- 
tice in  the  world.  From  all  of  these  witnesses  I  was 
not  allowed  to  call  one.  I  ivas  condemned  without 
a  hearing.  No  defence  ivas  made;  no  witness  was 
heard. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


THE    OLD    BAILEY. 


The  sessions  of  the  Central  Criminal  Court  opened 
on  the  1st  of  April  with  the  usual  address  to  the  grand 
jury.  The  indictments  were  prepared  and  the  wit- 
nesses ready.  So  short  work  was  made  of  this  grand 
preliminary  investigation,  that  my  trial  was  set  down 
for  the  5th  of  April.  The  grand  juiy  went  through 
the  form  of  finding,  perhaps,  fifty  indictments. 

A  day  or  two  before  my  trial  was  to  begin,  I  was 
taken  with  a  strong  desire  to  see  the  place  where  I 
was  to  be  tried,  and  something  of  the  procedure  in 
criminal  cases :  so  I  asked  Dr.  Nichols  to  take  me  to 
the  court.  The  Old  Bailey  runs  north  from  Ludgate 
Hill  to  Newgate,  under  the  morning  shadow  of  St. 
Paul's.  The  courts,  a  cluster  of  them,  are  close  beside 
the  prison  where  so  many  men  and  women  have  been 
hanged  and  scourged  and  burned  in  the  bad  old  times. 

On  applying  to  an  officer,  we  were  politety  shown 
to  seats  in  one  of  the  courts  where  a  trial  was  going 
on.  On  one  side,  on  an  elevated  platform,  under  the 
178 


THE   OLD    BAILEY.  179 

royal  emblems  of  the  lion  and  unicorn,  sat  a  judge  in 
wig  and  robes,  supported  by  two  city  aldermen  without 
wigs,  but  wearing  their  robes  of  office.  Opposite  them 
was  the  prisoner's  dock  ;  and  across  the  court  from 
where  we  sat  were  twelve  city  jurymen  packed  in  a 
box,  which  just  held  them  in  two  rows.  In  the  space 
below  us  were  the  barristers  in  wigs  and  gowns  of  stuff 
or  silk,  the  latter  worn  by  the  higher  grade  of  queen's 
counsel,  from  whom  are  selected  attorneys  and  soli- 
citors-general, judges,  and,  highest  of  all,  lord-chancel- 
lors, whose  office  it  is  to  keep  the  great  seal  and  the 
monarch's  conscience,  and  preside  over  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  House  of  Lords,  with  a  salary  of  ten 
thousand  pounds  a  year,  and  then,  after  perhaps  six 
months  of  service,  a  pension  of  five  thousand  a  year 
for  life. 

The  case  on  trial  was  that  of  a  young  Jew  peddler 
accused  of  "  ringing  the  changes."  Several  witnesses 
swore  that  he  went  into  a  public-house,  called  for  a 
glass  of  beer,  laid  down  a  sovereign  to  pay  for  it,  and 
then,  by  some  sleight  of  hand,  disputed  the  change, 
and  got  sixpence  more  than  was  his  due.  It  seemed  a 
clear  case  of  getting  money  by  false  pretences.  The 
pleadings  were  brief,  and  the  only  witnesses  called 
were  two  as  to  character.  Two  Jewish  tradesmen,  in 
neat  black  coats  and  well-brushed  silk  hats,  entered 
the  witness-box.     The  clerk  handed  them  a  copy  of 


180  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

the  Old  Testament,  and  they  solemnly  put  on  their 
hats,  and  were  sworn.  This  bit  of  ritualism,  or  relic 
of  old  Hebrew  ceremony,  made  an  evident  impres- 
sion on  the  jury ;  and  when  these  two  sleek,  com- 
fortable-looking men  swore  that  they  had  known  the 
prisoner  since  he  was  a  little  boy,  and  that  he  had 
always  borne  a  good  character,  the  jury  acquitted  him 
at  once,  and  he  went  out  of  court  without  a  stain  on 
his  character. 

The  next  case  was  that  of  a  poor,  dark,  forlorn- 
looking  little  woman,  indicted  also  for  getting  property 
under  false  pretences.  There  never  was  a  clearer  ease. 
It  was  proved  that  she  had  been  about  buying  sewing- 
machines  and  many  other  articles,  under  the  pretence 
of  acting  for  a  house  of  business,  with  false  cards, 
bill-heads,  etc.  The  young  barrister,  who  did  his  best 
to  defend  her,  had  really  but  one  plea.  It  was  that 
she  had  at  some  time  been  with  a  man  who  might  be 
supposed  to  be  her  husband.  The  judge  may  have 
occupied  ten  minutes  in  his  charge,  and  the  jury  put 
their  heads  together.  Then  came  a  curious  contest. 
We  could  not  hear  a  word  they  said,  but  they  were 
arguing  in  groups.  At  last  only  one  tall,  good-looking 
juror  held  out  against  the  eleven.  There  he  stood  with 
his  back  to  the  wall,  all  the  rest  assailing  him. 

"I  think  perhaps  you  had  better  retire,"  said  the 
judge. 


THE   OLD   BAILEY.  181 

"We  are  eleven  to  one,"  said  the  foreman.  "I 
think  we  shall  soon  bring  him  over." 

Of  course  we  thought  the  tall  juryman  was  for 
acquittal ;  and,  for  the  forlorn  little  woman's  sake,  we 
hoped  he  would  persevere.  He  did  a  little  longer, 
and  then  suddenly  collapsed.  The  contest  was  over  ; 
and  we  waited  for  the  "  Guilty,"  that  would  send  her 
for  months  or  years  to  prison. 

The  verdict  was  "  Not  guilty."  Our  philanthropist 
had  stood  out  for  a  conviction.  No  one  doubted  the 
woman's  guilt ;  but  she  was  a  woman,  and  the  man 
she  had  been  with  might  have  been  her  husband. 

"When  she  heard  the  verdict  she  did  not  faint,  she 
was  not  overcome  with  emotion  :  she  simply  turned 
round,  and  "  scuttled  "  out  of  the  dock  without  a  word 
or  gesture  of  thanks  for  her  great  deliverance. 

The  young  Jew  peddler,  spite  of  his  "subtle  de- 
vices," was  cleared  because  two  men  in  shining  hats 
swore  to  his  good  character.  The  poor  little  woman, 
though  admitted  by  her  counsel  to  be  guilty  of  a  whole 
series  of  impudent  robberies,  was  cleared  because  her 
male  confederate  might  or  should  have  been  her  hus- 
band. 

There  really  seemed  some  hope  in  such  precedents. 
But  I  considered  that  neither  of  these  cases  had  made 
the  least  sensation  in  the  newspapers,  and  that  neither 
of    these  prisoners  was  known  to  be  a   Spiritualist. 


182  TWELVE   MONTHS   IX   PEISON. 

Their  trials  may  have  lasted  an  hour  each.  The  judge's 
charges  may  have  occupied  ten  minutes.  The. reports 
of  the  two  cases,  if  reported  at  all,  may  have  occu- 
pied a  dozen  lines.  Had  the  verdicts  gone  against 
them,  there  would  have  been  no  leading*  articles  next 
day,  a  column  long,  triumphing  over  their  conviction. 

The  patient  reader  will  see  that  my  trial,  so  close  at 
hand,  was  a  different  affair  altogether.  I  had  taken 
charge  of  property  forced  upon  me  ;  I  had  done  my 
best  to  save  and  protect  a  very  troublesome  woman ; 
I  had  returned  her  her  property  as  soon  as  it  was 
demanded.  There  was  no  doubt  of  my  marriage,  and 
I  had  plenty  of  friends  to  testify  to  my  good  charac- 
ter. But  I  was  a  Spiritualist,  —  confessedly  and  pro- 
fessedly a  medium  :  so  my  indictment  covered  forty 
feet  of  parchment,  my  trial  lasted  many  days.  The 
judge  took  five  hours  to  sum  up  the  case,  and  charge 
the  jury  against  me.  The  jury  required  three  hours 
and  a  half  to  make  up  their  minds.  I  was  sentenced 
to  twelve  months'  imprisonment,  with  a  torrent  of  in- 
vective from  Sir  Hemy  Hawkins,  in  addition,  s*uch  as 
is  seldom  heard,  I  trust,  in  any  court  of  justice;  and 
there  were  leading  articles,  triumphing  in  my  convic- 
tion and  punishment,  in  a  hundred  newspapers. 

Why  this  difference  between  me  and  the  other  poor 
little  woman,  who  went  about  deliberately  defrauding 
small  tradesmen?     Guilty  as  she  was  admitted  to  be 


THE  OLD   BAILEY.  183 

by  her  own  counsel,  only  one  juryman  tried  to  convict 
her.  The  only  plea  for  her  was  that  of  a  rather 
violent  presumption  of  marital  coercion. 

The  real  difference  was,  that  I  was  a  Spiritualist ; 
while  she  got  clear  because  she  was  only  a  common 
swindler,  and  because  Englishmen  —  who  formerly 
burned  women  alive  here  in  this  very  street  by  New- 
gate for  having  counterfeit  money,  or  whipped  them 
horribly  at  the  cart's-tail  —  are  now  tender  and  merciful 
to  women,  whether  they 'be  thieves  or  murderers,  or 
whatever  they  may  be,  provided  that  they  are  not 
Spiritualists. 

But  I  am  getting  a  little,  only  a  very  little,  before 
my  story.  I  mean  to  give  the  facts  of  my  case,  and 
I  do  not  mean  to  talk  very  much  about  them. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

THE    OPENING    OF   THE    CASE. 

During  the  time  that  elapsed  between  my  commit- 
ment at  Bow  Street  and  my  trial  at  the  Old  Bailey, 
preparation  was  made  for  my  defence.  Had  it  been  a 
civil  suit,  I  could  have  been  put  into  the  witness-box, 
and  it  would  have  been  the  oath  of  one  woman  against 
the  oath  of  another.  The  jury  would  have  heard 
the  story  of  each,  and  been  able  to  judge  which  was  the 
true  statement  of  the  case.  As  I  was  accused  of  a 
crime,  no  such  justice  could  be  allowed  to  me.  A  few 
years  ago,  in  this  free  England,  no  one  charged  with 
a  felony  was  permitted  to  have  counsel  to  assist  him 
in  his  defence.  No  trial,  even  for  high-treason,  ever 
outlasted  one  day ;  and  the  felon  convicted  on  Satur- 
day night,  if  only  of  a  petty  theft  or  a  constructive 
murder,  was  dragged  on  a  hurdle  to  Tyburn,  and 
hanged^  on  Monday  morning. 

Things  are  not  now  so  savagety  bad,  but  in  some 
ways  they  are  equally  unjust.  On  this  trial,  where 
the  whole  evidence  against  me,  by  the  admission  of  the 

184 


THE   OPENING    OF   THE   CASE.  185 

judge,  was  the  word  of  one  woman,  I  iusist  that  I, 
the  woman  accused  of  crime,  ought  in  common  justice 
to  have  been  heard.  Had  it  been  murder,  I  should 
have  been  heard  —  after  the  verdict.  Then  the  ques- 
tion would  have  been  asked,  — 

4 'Prisoner  at  the  bar,  have  you  any  thing  to  say 
why  sentence  of  death  should  not  be  pronounced  upon 
you?" 

And  then,  with  the  gallows  staring  me  in  the  face, 
if  I  had  so  told  my  story  that  judge  and  jury,  and  all 
who  heard  me,  knew  me  to  be  innocent,  all  the  same 
the  judge  would  have  put  on  the  little  black  cap,  over 
his  great  white  wig,  and  sentenced  me  to  death. 

Since  my  trial,  the  judges  of  England  have  in  this 
matter  reformed  their  mode  of  procedure.  They  had 
ruled  that  an  accused  person  who  had  engaged  counsel 
should  not  speak  for  himself.  There  was  no  law  for 
it.  It  was  only  the  convenience  of  the  judges.  It 
saved  them  a  little  trouble.  But  as  several  failures  of 
justice  had  come  of  bad  defences,  and  as  some  innocent 
men  had  been  hanged,  and  others  sent  to  penal  servi- 
tude who  were  afterwards  known  to  be  innocent,  the 
judges,  a  year  after  my  conviction,  mercifully  decided 
that  thenceforth  every  accused  person  might  exercise 
the  right  to  tell  his  own  story,  even  if  he  had  counsel, 
if  dissatisfied  with  the  manner  in  which  his  story  had 
been  told.     Of  course  this  was  alwa}*s  the  right  of  a 


186  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PEISON. 

prisoner,  only  the  judges  had  not  recognized  it,  or  had 
trampled  it  under  their  feet. 

In  the  preparation  of  my  defence,  Mr.  Lewis  had 
taken  down  the  evidence  of  several  persons  who  had 
received,  through  my  husband  or  myself,  messages 
from  their  departed  friends,  or  satisfactory  proofs  of 
their  existence,  and  their  power  to  communicate  with 
them  under  favoring  conditions.  He  had  also  the  testi- 
mony of  many  men  and  women  of  the  highest  character 
and  intelligence  as  to  the  reality  of  such  manifesta- 
tions. This  testimony  he  considered,  as  I  did,  of  the 
highest  importance  ;  since  the  indictment,  as  I  have 
shown,  again  and  again  asserted  the  absolute  falsity 
and  impossibility  of  such  communications,  and  also 
that  I  knew  them  to  be  false.  The  fact  of  Spiritual- 
ism itself  was  on  trial ;  and  it  was  that  stupendous  fact, 
and  not  my  own  liberty,  which  I  wished  to  defend. 
What  to  me  was  the  risk  of  five  years'  penal  servitude, 
if  I  could  in  open  court,  by  the  sworn  evidence  of 
unimpeachable  witnesses,  .prove  the  consoling  truth 
and  the  sublime  reality  of  Spiritualism  ? 

I  knew  that  I  could  put  in  the  witness-box  peers  of 
the  realm,  members  of  the  Royal  Society  and  other 
learned  societies,  distinguished  clergymen,  lawyers  and 
physicians,  scientific  and  literary  men  of  the  highest 
reputation,  who  would  prove  the  fact,  which  the  in- 
dictment denied,  that  a  mother,  "  then  being  dead," 


THE   OPENING   OF  THE   CASE.  187 

COULD    STILL    SPEAK   TO    HER    CHILD.       I  IvlICW  that  tlllVO 

carls  could  testify  to  that,  and  some  personages  of 
higher  titles,  if  I  chose  to  call  them.  I  knew  that 
many  men  and  women  commanding  a  higher  respect 
than  any  title  can  bestow  could  give  such  testimony, 
and  that  all  the  newspapers  would  be  compelled  to 
spread  it  before  the  world. 

My  -friends  wondered  how  I  could  be  so  foolish  as  to 
cross  the  Atlantic  to  meet  my  trial.  My  answer  was 
and  is,  "Idid  it  for  Spiritualism.'' '  If  they  ask,  ; '  Why 
did  not  your  spirits  protect  you?  "  all  I  can  say  is,  that 
spirits  out  of  the  body,  as  in  it,  are  not  infallible,  and 
they  are  not  omnipotent.  They  do  what  they  can,  as 
we  do.  If  good  spirits  could  do  all  they  wish  to  do, 
this  world  would  be  much  better  than  it  is.  God  him- 
self does  not  compel  man  to  be  just :  he  leaves  us  to 
"work  out  our  own  salvation."  But  I  believe  my 
spirit-guides  could  have  done  me  no  grander  service 
than  to  allow  me  to  be  imprisoned  for  the  truth. 

No  English  solicitor,  however  learned  in  the  law, 
however  eloquent,  can  speak  in  any  English  court 
above  the  grade  of  a  police-court,  save  in  a  whisper. 
My  solicitor,  Mr.  E.  D.  Lewis,  is  learned  in  the  law, 
and  has  written  valuable  treatises.  He  is  a  sympa- 
thetic and  eloquent  pleader,  as  I  saw  at  Bow  Street ; 
but  he  could  not  speak  for  me  at  the  Old  Bailey.  It 
was  necessary  to  engage  a  barrister,  and  highly  impor- 


188  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

tant  to  have  one  of  the  highest  position,  and  of  course 
to  paj'  his  price.  Queen's  counsel  are  not  now  con- 
tent, as  in  Erskine's  days,  to  have  a  brief  marked  with 
an  honorarium  of  one  guinea :  they  expect  hundreds. 
They  are  no  longer  knights-templars  with  lance  in  rest, 
ever  ready  to  defend  the  innocent  without  fee  or 
reward.  In  our  days  all  the  learned  professions  seem 
demoralized.  Clergymen  buy  good  livings ;  doctors 
refuse  to  see  patients  until  they  are  sure  of  their  fees ; 
and  lawyers  —  well,  they  expect  to  be  well  paid,  and 
are  engaged  on  one  side  unless  they  can  receive  more 
on  the  other. 

Mr.  Lewis  engaged  for  me  as  leader  Mr.  Addison, 
Q.  C,  an  able  advocate  at  the  English  bar,  and  with 
him  Mr.  Besley,  a  barrister  of  large  experience  in 
criminal  procedure.  Against  me  .were  Mr.  Montagu 
Williams,  a  favorite  of  the  government,  who  is  engaged 
on  one  side  or  the  other  in  nearly  every  important  crim- 
inal trial,  Mr.  Snaggi,  and  Mr.  Cavendish-Bentinck, 
instructed  by  the  treasury  solicitor  who  appeared 
against  me  at  Bow  Street.  How  much,  with  this  array 
of  legal  luminaries  against  me,  I  have  added  to  the 
burdens  of  the  British  tax-payers,  I  have  no  means  of 
knowing.  But  the  government  had  determined  to 
crush  out  the  heres}'  of  Spiritualism,  and  did  not  count 
the  cost.  I  was  at  the  moment  their  Arabi  Pacha, 
and  these  were  the  great  guns  to  blow  down  my 
fortress. 


THE   OPENING   OF   THE   CASE. 


189 


Of   course   the   money   used   was    entirely  wasted. 
That  was  not  the  fault  of  Mr.  Lewis.     But  the  simple 
fact  is,  that  had  I  refused  to  expend  one  shilling,  and 
had  I  gone  into  the  prisoner's  dock  utterly  undefended, 
or  if  I  had  made  my  own  defence,  I  should  not  have 
been  in  any  worse  position,  and  I  might  have  had  the 
comforting   advantage  of  telling   my  own    story,  and 
thus  might  have  possibly  secured  my  acquittal. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  utter  failure  of  my  counsel 
.  to  make  a  proper  defence  has  compelled  me  to  make 
one  here  and  now,  before  a  higher  court  and  a  larger 
'  public  ;  and  I  do  it  in  the  hope  that  a  greater  good 
may  come  of   my  conviction   than    could   have   come 
from  such  failure  to  convict  as  might  have  been  caused 
by  one  firm,  disagreeing  juryman.     I  may  not  be  able 
to  see,  but  none  the  less  do  I  believe,  that  it  was  all 
ordered  by  the  highest  wisdom,  and  that  my  triumph, 
or  rather,  much   rather,  the   triumph  of   the   cause  I 
serve  "  through  evil  report  and  good  report,"  was  to 
come  out  of  much  suffering  and  much  reproach. 

The  cause  I  serve  is  the  hope  of  immortality —  more 
than  the  hope,  the  certainty  of  the  life  beyond  the 
grave.  It  was  my  sense  of  the  value  of  this  evidence 
that  sustained  me  in  the  prisoner's  dock  for  eight  weary 
days,  and  for  twelve  months  in  a  prisoner's  ceil,  —  not 
only  calm,  but  happy  to  be  a  witness  for  the  truth. 
It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  April,  1881, 


190  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

that  I  drove  past  the  .Newgate  Prison  into  the  court- 
yard where  judges  and  prisoners  alight,  aud  was 
escorted  to  the  prisoners'  dock,  where  I  sat  with  the 
governor  of  Newgate  and  two  female  warders.  The 
largest  court-room  in  the  building  was  crowded,  — 
the  bench  and  seats  with  ladies  and  gentlemen,  the 
galleries  with  as  many  as  could  get  into  them.  All 
rose  as  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  and  two  city  aldermen 
came  in  and  took  their  seats. 

I  have  described  the  indictment.  When  its  forty 
yards  were  unrolled,  and  ran  about  the  floor,  it  made  a 
visible  sensation.  It  was  a  monster  ready  to  strangle 
me  in  its  coils.  When  called  upon  to  plead  to  this 
indictment,  which  charged  me  with  the  most  base,  de- 
testable, and  horrible  crimes,  I  rose  and  spoke  the 
only  words  heard  from  me  during  my  trial,  —  "  Not 

GUILTY,    MY    LORD  !  ' ' 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams,  undoubtedly  an  able  lawyer, 
with  considerable  facial  expression  and  some  dramatic 
ability,  succeeds  better  as  a  prosecutor  than  a  defender. 
In  the  cases  of  Lefroy  and  Lamson  whom  he  defended, 
he  melted  the  jurymen  to  tears  ;  but  they  convicted, 
nevertheless. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams  opened  the  case  for  the 
prosecution,  saying  that  he  had  to  lay  before  the  jury 
"  a  story  of  fraud  and  chicanery  seldom  equalled,  and 
never  surpassed,  in  the  history  of  the  criminal  courts."  1 

1  The  full  report  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 


THE   OPENING   OF   THE   CASE.  191 

He   described   the   prosecutrix,    Mrs.    Hart-Davies, 

enlarged  upon  her  wealth  and  possessions,  and  touched 
lightly  upon  her  personal  history,  dexterously  avoiding 
the  stains  upon  her  character.  Still,  he  had  to  admit 
the  fact  of  the  divorce  and  the  former  intimacy  with 
Lindmark.  He  sketched  the  beginning  of  her  acquaint- 
ance with  our  family,  and  detailed  the  supposed  arts 
by  which  he  alleged  Mr.  Fletcher  had  acquired  his 
influence  over  this  confiding  woman  with  a  view  of 
stripping  her  of  her  fortune.  The  means  of  influence 
being  assumed  to  be  false  and  fraudulent,  the  motive 
and  the  action  were  tainted  with  crime.  He  described 
the  trip  to  America  and  the  circumstances  of  the  deed 
of  gift.  Then  he  read  long  spiritual  communications 
taken  from  the  note-book  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies.  He 
again  referred  to  Lindmark,  claiming  that  there  was  a 
close  intimacy  between  him  and  myself,  and  gave  the 
jury  to  understand,  that  on  our  voyage  to  the  United 
States  my  numerous  trunks  contained  the  bulk  of  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies 's  personal  effects.  He  alleged  that  a  good 
portion  of  the  property  was  recovered  by  legal  process, 
and  that  more  was  found  at  our  house  in  Gordon 
Street  after  her  return  to  London.  He  thought  the 
jury  would  have  no  difficulty  in  coming  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  defendants  —  myself  and  husband,  and 
Mr.  Morton  who  drew  up  the  deed  of  gift  —  were 
swindlers,  confederated  together  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  the  property. 


192  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

This  was  the  opening  of  the  ease.  I  have  already 
spoken  of  my  relations  to  Capt.  Landmark.  They 
were  honorable  to  him  and  creditable  to  myself.  I 
have  nothing  to  regret  in  them,  but  the  fact  that  I  have 
been  made  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  the  means  of  giving 
a  needless  publicity  to  the  scandal  of  their  intimacy 
when  they  were  unfortunately  thrown  together,  so  long 
ago,  in  South  America.  I  very  much  regret  that  I 
must  also,  later  on,  give  Capt.  Landmark's  own  sworn 
statement,  which  should  properly  have  been  given  in  the 
witness-box,  in  the  course  of  my  trial,  and  which  would 
have  been  given  had  I  managed  my  own  defence. 

The  reader  will  see  from  the  opening,  as  well  as  in 
the  indictment,  that  the  single  point  upon  which  the 
whole  case  turned  was  the  reality  of  spiritual  mani- 
festations. The  deed  of  gift  and  the  transfer  of 
property  were  perfectly  legal,  unless  it  could  be  shown 
that  they  were  induced  by  false  and  fraudulent  pre- 
tences ;  namely,  the  pretence  of  having  received  com- 
munications from  departed  spirits. 

A  forged  draft  must  be  proved  to  be  a  forgery :  its 
falsity  cannot  be  assumed.  The  drawer  or  indorser 
must  come  into  court,  and  deny  his  signature.  In  this 
case  falsity  was  assumed  when  it  should  have  been 
proved.  The  indictment  charged  that  "  dead  men  tell 
no  tales,"  and  that  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies, 
being  dead,  could  not  advise  her  daughter. 


THE   OPENING   OF   THE   CASE.  193 

It  was  not  proved  that  the  spirit  of  Mrs.  Ileurtley 
did  not  exist,  or,  existing,  could  not  communicate  with 
her  daughter,  but,  so  far  as  the  daughter's  testimony 
went,  quite  the  contrary.  Where,  then,  is  the  proof 
of  false  pretences? 

On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Morton,  who  had  come  from 
America,  and  was  ready  to  testify  at  my  trial  had  he 
been  allowed  to  do  so,  would  have  sworn  in  the  wit- 
ness-box, as  he  has  done  in  his  affidavit,  that  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies,  before  making  the  deed  and  the  will, 
solemnly  declared  that  she  had  not  been  influenced, 
either  by  mortals  or  spirits. 

And  there  is  no  proof  aside  from  her  own  testimony 
that  she  ever  received  the  communications.  Nor  was 
there  any  evidence  offered  to  establish  the  validity  of 
the  letters  beyond  Mrs.  Davies's  testimony. 

The  testimony,  cross-examination,  and  speeches, 
being  mainly  a  repetition  of  the  case  at  Bow  Street, 
are  in  the  Appendix.  That  the  reader  may  have  a 
knowledge  of  my  defence,  I  give  the  testimony  as  to 
character,  and  the  substance  of  my  counsel's  speech. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE   TESTIMONY   AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION. 

The  first  witness  called  to  support  this  opening 
statement  was  the  friendly  detective  who  arrested  me 
at  Greenock.     He  said,  — 

"The  prisoner  laughed  at  the  charge  which  mentioned  a 
string  of  pearls,  remarking,  'I  am  rather  amused  at  those 
pearls.  I  was  charged  with  stealing  them  in  America,  and 
now  I  am  accused  of  obtaining  them  by  false  pretences.'  She 
added,  'I  suppose  they  have  them  now;  as  they  have  been 
to  my  house  in  Gordon  Street,  and  taken  away  what  they 
thought  proper.  I  left  them  in  London  when  I  went  away.' 
At  Bow  Street,  after  the  first  examination  before  the  magis- 
trate, prisoner  said  to  witness,  « If  you  go  to  the  Pantechni- 
con, and  search  a  small  chest  of  drawers,  you  will  most  likely 
find  the  pearls;  as  I  left  them  there  when  I  went  away.'  He 
found  the  pearls  In  the  place  described." 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  gave  about  the  same  testimony  as 
at  the  police-court,  relating  the  messages  which  she 
said  she  believed  came  from  her  mother,  and  describ- 
ing the  movement  of  a  small  table  across  the  room 
when  it  was  not  touched  by  any  person  present. 
194 


THE  TESTIMONY  AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      195 

The  day  was  consumed  in  hearing  a  part  of  her 
story,  and  in  reading  letters  supposed  to  confirm  it. 
On  the  second  day,  April  G,  she  said,  — 

"  Before  I  left  Farquhar  Lodge  I  became  acquainted  wkh 
Col.  Morton.  He  was  introduced  to  me  by  the  Fletchers,  I 
believe,  at  their  house  in  Gordon  Street;  and  they  told  me 
subsequently  that  he  was  their  lawyer." 

The  story,  spun  out  by  questions  and  answers,  was, 
that  at  my  suggestion  she  applied  to  Mr.  Morton  to 
draw  up  the  deed  of  gift ;  that,  before  signing  it,  she 
became  very  ill ;  that  Mr.  Morton  magnetized  her,  but 
she  became  fainter  and  fainter. 

Did  he  write  out  the  document  before  the  pawing,  or  after  ? 
Witness.  —  He  wrote  it  out  before,  and  then  came  the  mes- 
merizing. 

Did  you  understand  him  when  he  read  the  document  ? 
Witness.  —  No.  His  voice  sounded  to  me  like  a  distant  whis- 
per. I  could  hardly  understand  the  document,  because  I  was 
so  faint.  He  said  he  had  complied  with  my  instructions  in 
regard  to  protection.  When  I  had  signed  the  document,  I 
rested  a  little  while,  and  then,  later  on,  went  home,  feeling 
very  bad.  A  few  days  after,  I  had  another  interview  with 
Morton ;  but  before  that  I  had  seen  Mrs.  Fletcher,  and  she  had 
delivered  to  me  another  message  from  my  mother,  urging  me 
to  write  a  letter  to  her  making  things  mere  binding.  When 
I  saw  Morton  I  told  him  that  Mrs.  Fletcher  wanted  a  letter 
which  would  make  the  protection  more  binding  to  her,  so  that 
she  could  keep  it  privately  in  case  any  thing  should  occur  to 
me. 


196  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Was  there  any  mesmerism  on  this  occasion  ?  Witness.  — 
No.  He  made  out  a  draught-letter,  and  proposed  that  I  should 
put  a  head  and  tail  to  it  in  my  own  style,  and  copy  it  on  my 
own  crested  paper.  I  took  the  draught  home,  and  copied  it, 
and  sent  the  copy  to  Mrs.  Fletcher;  and  I  subsequently  took 
the  draught  to  Col.  Morton,  who  said  he  wished  to  destroy  it. 

This  letter  was  then  read,  and  stated  that  the  prosecutrix 
handed  the  property  over  to  the  prisoner  as  a  free  gift. 

Examination  continued. — Subsequently  I  made  a  will,  about 
which  I  had  several  conversations  with  the  Fletchers.  Morton 
suggested  that  I  should  make  the  will.  He  said  that  I  should 
take  into  consideration  the  delicate  state  of  my  health  and  the 
uncertainty  of  human  life,  and  that  I  ought  to  make  a  will 
before  my  departure  for  France,  suggesting  that  I  should  leave 
the  money  where  it  would  be  most  wanted  and  useful. 

Yes:  what  next?  Witness. — I  suggested  that  I  should 
like  to  leave  the  bulk  of  it  to  the  propagation  of  the  cause  of 
Spiritualism  in  its  higher  phases,  teaching  the  truths  of  the 
life  to  come  and  immortality. 

What  did  Morton  say  ?  Witness.  —  He  said,  legally  speak- 
ing, that  could  not  be  done.  It  must  be  done  through  indi- 
viduals; as  the  outside  world  might  say  I  was  mad  [laughter], 
they  having  no  sympathy  with  the  cause.  He  suggested  that 
it  would  be  better  to  leave  the  money  to  my  adopted  brother 
and  sister  (the  Fletchers). 

Before  you  executed  this  will,  did  you  have  any  conversa- 
tion with  the  prisoner  about  the  will  ?  Witness.  —About  the 
will,  but  not  about  its  execution.  On  several  occasions  we  had 
conversations  about  the  matter.  On  one  occasion,  when  I  was 
alone  with  the  prisoner,  I  spoke  to  her,  as  my  mother,  about 
the  proposition  which  Morton  had  made  to  me.  She  then 
went  into  a  trance. 


THE   TESTIMONY   AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      197 

How  did  she  go  into  the  trance?  Witness. —  Oh!  she 
went  into  it  very  quietly,  —  put  her  hands  round  me,  and  shut 
her  eyes.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Addison.  — I  should  like  to  know  what  this  trance 
was  like.  The  others  we  have  heard  of  were  attended  with 
shivering.     [  Laughter.  1 

The  Judge. —They  are  not  always  alike,  Mr.  Addison. 
[Laughter.  ] 

Me.  Montagu  Williams.  —  That  was  a  male  trance : 
this  is  a  female  trance.     [Loud  laughter.] 

Examination  continued.  —  In  the  trance  the  prisoner  com- 
menced speaking  about  the  will.  She  told  me  to  go  to  Col. 
Morton,  as  he  would  find  a  good  solicitor  for  me.  Subse- 
quently I  saw  Col.  Morton,  and  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  a  good 
solicitor  to  make  this  will  valid  and  draw  it  out  for  me.  At 
first  he  mentioned  a  firm  of  solicitors, —Murray  <fe  Miller. 
I  went  to  their  office  with  him ;  and,  having  made  some  pre- 
liminary remarks,  he  left  some  papers  of  mine  there.  A  short 
time  after,  I  received  a  letter  from  the  prisoner  purporting  to 
come  from  my  mother.  The  communication  said,  the  sooner 
I  took  the  papers  away  from  Miller,  the  better.  I  informed 
Col.  Morton  of  the  contents  of  the  letter;  and,  having  got  the 
papers  from  Miller,  I  met  Morton,  and  we  then  went  to  the 
firm  of  Field,  Roscoe,  &  Francis,  solicitors.  We  there  saw  Mr. 
Francis,  and  I  was  introduced  as  a  friend  of  Fletcher.  It  was 
proposed  that  Mr.  Francis  should  manage  the  matter  for  me. 
A  will  had  been  prepared  by  Mr.  Morton,  and  was  handed  by 
him  to  Mr.  Francis,  who  thought  it  necessary  that  a  codicil 
should  be  added.  A  codicil  was  subsequently  sent  to  me,  and 
I  signed  it.     I  also  signed  the  will  drawn  up  by  Morton. 

The  Judge. — I  do  not  observe  any  thing  in  the  will  or 
in  the  codicil  about  Spiritualism  in  its  higher  phases.     Was 


198  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

any  thing  said  about  that  to  Mr.  Francis  ?  Witness.  —  No, 
my  lord. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams. — I  think  it  fair  to  Mr.  Francis 
that  I  should  call  him. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  I  should  he  glad  if  Mr.  Francis  could  be 
called. 

The  Judge. — Nothing  has  been  said  against  Mr.  Francis 
in  any  way. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams.  —  No,  my  lord.  Only  it  is  not 
agreeable  to  be  mixed  up  in  such  a  matter  as  this. 

The  Judge.  —  I  only  wanted  to  know  whether  any  thing 
was  said  in  the  will  about  Spiritualism.  Witness.  —  No,  my 
lord.     Col.  Morton  said  it  was  not  necessary.  " 

The  will  was  read  by  Mr.  Read  (deputy-clerk). 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams. — What  induced  you  to  make 
this  will  ? 

Mr.  Addison.  —  You  have  got  that.  She  said  she  made 
the  will  with  the  view  of  propagating  the  cause  of  Spiritualism. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams.  —  I  will  put  the  question  in  this 
form  (to  witness):  Did  you  believe  that  the  directions  about 
the  will  really  came  from  your  mother  ?  Witness.  —  Cer- 
tainly I  did,  or  else  I  never  should  have  thought  of  making  it. 
I  believed  the  prisoner,  and  it  was  in  consequence  of  what  she 
said  that  I  made  the  will. 

The  reason  why  Mr.  Morton  was  included  in  the 
iudictraent,  and  so  prevented  testifying,  is  obvious  ; 
because  he  would  have  contradicted  nearly  every  word 
of  this  statement,  as  he  has  done  in  his  affidavit,  which 
I  will  give  among  the  suppressed  evidence.  He  was 
at  hand  for  the  purpose  of  surrendering  himself  for 


THE   TESTIMONY   AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION. 


199 


trial  to  meet  the  charges,  and  ready  at  any  risk  to 
testify,  but  was  assured  that  any  effort  to  do  so  would 
be  perfectly  useless  to  me,  as  it  would  have  placed 
him,  silenced  and  helpless,  in  the  prisoner's  dock  by 
my  side,  and  in  all  probability  have  consigned  him  to 
penal  servitude. 

Among  the  letters  read  —  all  on  one  side,  for  the 
others  had  disappeared  since  the  search  was  made  in 
Gordon  Street  —  was  one  in  which  Mr.  Fletcher  had 
written,  — 

I  do  not  like  your  dream,  because  it  showed  to  me  how 
weak  you  were. 

Mr.  Williams  (to  witness).  —What  were  the  dreams  ? 
Witness.  —  Oh!  something  pretty.    It  seemed  as  if  I  were 
walking  in  a  beautiful  garden,  with  the  perfume  of  orange- 
blossoms  in  the  air.     I  thought  I  was  walking  with  Fletcher. 

The  Judge. -Where  were  the  gardens?  — I  don't  know. 
I  say  I  simply  dreamed  it. 

The  Judge.— I  suppose  it  could  have  been  at  Vernon 
Place  or  Gordon  Square.     [Laughter.l 

Mr.  Williams  (to  witness).  — You  had  written  to  Fletcher 
to  tell  him  what  the  dream  was? -Yes.  I  told  him  that  I 
had  been  in  his  company  and  the  company  of  sundry  other 

friends. 

Can  you  tell  us  more  definitely  about  this  dream  ?  —  I 
have  told  you.  I  dreamed  that  I  was  walking  in  a  garden  per- 
fumed with  orange-blossoms,  jessamine,  and  other  flowers. 

The  Judge.  — Stop  a  minute.  I  will  just  put  in  the  jes- 
samine.   We  hadn't  that  before.     ILaughter.l 

Witness  (continuing).  — I  seemed  to  be  walking  and  con- 


200  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

versing  with  Fletcher,  with  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  and  with 
many  others. 

The  Judge.  —  What  were  you  conversing  with  Fletcher 
about  ? —  I  was  conversing  with  him  about  spiritualistic  truths, 
about  immortality,  and  about  other  subjects.  It  seemed  a 
beautiful  dream  to  me. 

Who  were  the  others  there?  — It  is  impossible  for  me  to 
remember  now. 

Was  Morton  or  the  handsome  captain  on  the  scene? 
[Laughter.]— I  did  not  trouble  my  head  about  either  of 
them. 

They  did  not  appear  in  the  dream  ?  —  Not  at  all. 

Near  the  close  of  the  second  day,  the  judge,  being 
tired  of  the  monotony,  interposed,  wishing  to  know  if 
it  were  necessary  to  read  any  more  letters.  They  all 
contained  the  same  sort  of  —  well,  he  was  going  to  say 
rubbish,  but  he  would  call  it  language. 

Mk.  Addison. — Yes,  my  lord,  the  language  of  affection. 
I  think  it  is  important  to  the  defence  that  the  letters  should  be 
read,  as  showing  how  far  they  corroborate  the  charge  of  false 
pretences. 

Mr.  Williams. — And  the  letters  might  be  important  in 
reference  to  the  conspiracy  counts. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  There  was  a  belief  in  Spiritualism  among 
some  of  these  people,  who  mixed  up  the  subject  with  a  great 
deal  of  affection;  and  what  I  want  to  show  is,  how  far  the 
false  pretence  alleged  is  unsupported  by  these  letters.  The 
letters  are  important  to  me  as  exhibiting  the  real  motives  of 
the  prosecutrix  in  placing  her  property  in  the  custody  of  the 
Fletchers.    They  show  the  march  of  events  up  to  the  point  of 


THE  TESTIMONY  AND   CKOSS-EXAMINATION.      201 

"  work  and  love  and  wisdom,"  when  love  and  wisdom  got  jeal- 
ous, and  fell  out. 

Mns.  Hart-D avies.  —  That  is  untrue. 

On  the  following  day  Mrs.  Hart-Davies's  examina- 
tion was  continued,  when  Mr.  Williams  proceeded  to 
read  additional  letters  of  the  same  character  as  those 
already  read. 

Mr.  Addison  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  a  portion  of 
one  of  those  letters  had  been  torn  away. 

Witness,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Williams,  said,  That  was  torn 
off  because  Mr.  Fletcher  considered  that  I  thought  otherwise 
of  him  than  as  a  brother.  My  indignation  was  so  intense,  that 
I  wrote  to  him  to  that  effect;  and  I  had  a  severe  illness  in  con- 
sequence. Mrs.  Fletcher  ordered  me  to  destroy  all  correspond- 
ence on  that  subject.  There  is  not  the  slightest  foundation 
for  saying  that  there  has  ever  been  any  improper  conduct  be- 
tween myself  and  Mr.  Fletcher.  I  wrote  a  number  of  letters 
to  the  Fletchers.  I  have  never  received  any  of  them  back,  nor 
have  I  seen  them  since  I  sent  them.  When  I  returned  from 
Tours,  on  the  1st  of  May,  Mrs.  Fletcher  and  I  went  to  Gordon 
Street,  where  I  found  a  room  prepared  for  me.  I  remained  in 
the  house  for  twelve  weeks. 

Did  you  pay  for  your  board  ?—  I  did  not.  I  gave  them  my 
whole  income,  which  was  three  hundred  pounds  a  year.  Capt. 
Lindmark  frequently  visited  at  the  house  while  I  was  there. 
In  early  days  the  prisoner  told  me  that  my  mother  had  desired 
that  we  should  form  a  "  trinity,"  —love,  wisdom,  and  work. 
Fletcher  was  to  represent  wisdom ;  the  defendant,  work;  and 
I,  the  affection  of  the  family  to  bind  them  all  together. 

Was  the  "  trinity  "  ever  formed  ?  —  I  do  not  know.  It  was 
all  a  mystery  to  me. 


202  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins. —  It  is  a  mystery  to  me  too. 
[Laughter.] 

The  story  of  the  trip  to  America,  the  meeting  with 
Dr.  Mack  and  the  Homes,  the  search-warrants  and 
arrests  all  round,  and  the  escape  of  Dr.  Mack  and 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  England,  were  then  tediously 
gone  through  with. 

The  cross-examination  of  the  witness  by  Mr.  Addi- 
son was  more  lively  and  interesting,  and  took  up 
points  of  the  evidence  which  in  the  direct  examina- 
tion I  have  omitted,  because  it  did  not  seem  desirable 
to  tire  the  reader. 

Mr.  Addison,  Q.C.,  is,  as  I  have  said,  a  man  of 
eminence  in  the  profession ;  but  his  idea  of  a  proper 
method  of  defence  was  not  mine  nor  my  solicitor's.  I 
wished  to  have  the  case  seriously  treated,  and  to  call 
witnesses  who  would  testify  to  the  reality  of  spiritual 
manifestations,  which  the  whole  effort  of  the  prosecu- 
tion was  to  deny.  The  result  of  the  trial  did  not 
trouble  me.  Whether  the  jury  believed  the  evidence, 
or  not,  I  wanted  it  put  on  record,  and  published  to  the 
world. 

Mr.  Addison  thought  it  was  enough  to  show  the 
character  of  the  only  important  witness,  and  so  relied 
upon  his  cross-examination.  Also  he  knew,  appar- 
ently, that  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  would  rule  out  all  the 
evidence  I  wished  to  offer.     So  he  proceeded  with  his 


THE  TESTIMONY  AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      203 

cross-examination,  which  I  give  as  I  find  it  reported  in 
the  newspapers. 

I  hope  my  readers  will  have  patience  to  read  this 
summary  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies's  evidence.  It  will 
require  but  little  imagination  to  reproduce  the  scene, 
and  to  appreciate  the  parts  played  by  the  different 
actors.  The  plausible,  mendacious,  and  generally 
shameless  part  of  the  prosecutrix  is  sufficiently  evi- 
dent. Mr.  Addison  is  seen  goading  the  wretched 
woman,  to  force  her  to  display  her  qualities  before 
the  Court ;  meanwhile  he  responds  occasionally  to  the 
banter  of  the  presiding  judge  as  if  they  two  had  parts 
in  a  farce,  or  more  as  if  they  were  the  "  end-men  "  in 
a  minstrel  show.  This  trifling,  punning,  and  leering 
between  comfortable,,  well-fed  officials,  while  the  lib- 
erty and  honor  of  an  unoffending  woman  were  at 
stake,  were  unspeakably  heartless  and  repulsive.  We 
don't  appreciate  jokes  and  chaff  from  hangmen  and 
undertakers. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  then  cross-examined  by  Mr.  Addison. 
She  said,  I  wrote  out  the  inventory  of  the  property  delivered 
to  the  prisoners  in  America.  I  had  made  out  an  inventory 
before,  but  the  inventory  I  made  in  America  was  done  from 
memory.  The  box  of  lace  is  not  mentioned  in  the  inventory, 
because  I  directed  my  attention  chiefly  to  the  jewelry;  but  the 
box  of  lace  is  mentioned  in  other  inventories.  My  mother 
died  in  the  year  1876. 

Mr.  Addison. —Does  your  trustee  know  any  thing  about 
the  lace  ?  —  I  don't  know. 


204  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Is  your  husband  in  court  ?  —  I  don't  know. 
If  you  want  to  know  the  value  of  the  Jace,  you  had  better  go 
and  ask  my  mother's  spirit.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Oh,  no!  I  cannot  do  that.     [Laughter.] 

Cross-examination.  —  I  swear  that  I  do  not  know  whether 
my  mother  left  a  will,  or  not.  I  know  that  she  wished  me  to 
have  all  her  jewelry  and  other  property;  and  I  know  that  there 
ought  to  be  a  will,  but  thai  has  to  be  investigated.  I  am  sup- 
posed to  be  her  administrator. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  You  went  to  swear  to  the  value  of  her 
property  ?  —  Well,  yes. 

And  you  swore  that  her  effects  were  worth  under  a  hundred 
pounds  ?  — I  did,  on  the  advice  of  a  lawyer. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins.  —  Who  was  the  lawyer?  —  Am  I 
compelled  to  disclose  my  private  affairs  ? 

Mr.  Addison  said  he  did  not  care  to  have  the  name  of  the 
lawyer;  and  the  learned  judge  said,  as  this  was  the  case,  he 
would  not  insist  upon  an  answer  being  given. 

Cross-examination  continued.  —  Before  my  mother  died,  she 
had  all  the  property  locked  up  in  boxes,  and  labelled  with  my 
name.  I  was  in  Paris  when  my  mother  died,  and  the  property 
was  handed  over  to  me.  I  did  not  see  my  mother  for  two  or 
three  years  before  she  died. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Has  anybody  ever  seen  this  mysterious  box 
of  lace?  —  I  won't  tell  you. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins.  —  But  you  must  tell  us. 

Witness.  —  I  believe  Madame  Michaud  saw  it. 

Where  does  she  live?  —  I  dorr  t  know.  In  London  some- 
where.   I  don't  know  her  address. 

Cross-examination  continued.  —  I  believe  Mrs.  Weldon  also 
saw  the  lace,  and  I  think  Madame  Michaud  saw  it  at  Gordon 
Street.    Before  I  came  into  connection  with  Mr.  Fletcher,  I  had 


THE   TESTIMONY   AND   CPwOSS- EXAMINATION.      205 

never  seen  my  deceased  mother  except  in  visions  or  dreams, 
whichever  you  like  to  call  them.  Whenever  I  saw  her,  it  ap- 
peared to  me  like  a  dream ;  but  I  have  seen  her  when  I  was 
wide  awake. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  In  white  robes  ?    [Laughter.] 

Witness. — In  something  beautiful  and  bright  which  I  can- 
not explain.  In  other  respects  she  looked  to  me  as  she  did 
when  she  was  alive.  It  is  possible  that  I  may  have  only  seen 
my  mother,  as  other  people  do,  in  dreams.  I  was  an  "  uncon- 
scious "  Spiritualist  before  I  saw  Dr.  Fletcher;  and  I  believe 
in  immortality,  and  in  the  sympathy  of  those  who  have  gone 
before  us.  In  the  course  of  the  conversations  I  had  with  Mr. 
Fletcher,  I  said  that  either  in  dreams  or  in  a  vision  I  had  seen 
the  spirit  of  my  departed  mother,  and  that  it  seemed  to  me  that 
she  had  conversed  with  me  in  a  vision.  In  my  dreams  it  ap- 
peared to  me  that  my  mother  told  me  that  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  death,  but  it  was  only  a  change ;  and  she  appeared  to 
me  to  say  those  words.  I  understood  that  she  meant  merely  a 
spiritualist  change,  and  that  this  was  how  she  was  permitted 
to  come  and  speak  to  me.  These  visions  occurred  in  1876. 
My  husband  first  sent  for  Dr.  Fletcher.  By  my  husband  I 
mean  Mr.  Hart-Davies.  I  was  perfectly  aware  that  Dr.  Fletcher 
was  what  is  called  a  "magnetic  "  doctor.  I  failed  to  feel  any 
magnetic  influence. when  I  first  saw  him:  and  he  told  me  that 
this  was  not  his  forte,  and  that  his  vocation  was  that  of  a 
trance  medium ;  and  he  went  off  into  a  trance. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Straight  away  ?  [Laughter.]  He  took  hold 
of  your  hand,  shivered,  and  went  to  sleep?    [Laughter.] 

Cross-examined.  —  He  told  me  not  to  be  alarmed  if  he  went 
into  a  trance ;  and  shortly  afterwards  he  shut  his  eyes,  shivered, 
and  then  went  off.  My  hand  was  in  his  all  the  time ;  and  he 
told  me  not  to  take  my  hand  away,  as  it  might  bring  on  serious 


206  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  PRISON. 

consequences,  and  affect  his  system  seriously.  [A  roar  of 
laughter.]  He  shivered  so  much,  that  I  had  to  hold  on  tightly 
to  keep  hold  of  his  hand. 

Mil.  Addison.  — Then,  you  "  shivered  "  together  ?  [Laugh- 
ter.] 

Witness.  —It  was  while  he  was  shivering  he  began  to  talk 
about  my  mother.  He  began  to  get  quiet  while  he  was  deliv- 
ering the  message  from  my  mother.  I  was  filled  with  awe 
while  he  was  delivering  the  message.  He  spoke  with  his  eyes 
shut;  and  I  remembered  all  he  said,  and  wrote  it  down  imme- 
diately afterwards.  All  the  time  he  was  speaking,  he  said  that 
he  was  under  control,  and  that  he  was  delivering  a  message  to 
me  from  my  mother.  He  knew  that  I  had  suffered  persecution 
from  a  variety  of  causes.  My  first  marriage  was  an  unsuitable 
match,  and  I  was  also  not  happy  in  my  second  marriage.  My 
sufferings  were  alluded  to  in  the  first  message  the  prisoner's 
husband  delivered  to  me  from  my  mother.  I  was  not  in  the 
habit  of  complaining  of  the  persecutions  that  I  had  expe- 
rienced. I  have  been  present  at  spiritual  manifestations  at 
which  the  Fletchers  were  not  present,  and  it  seemed  to  me 
that  the  table  has  moved  round  when  I  and  the  others  placed 
our  hands  on  it.  Certain  questions  were  asked  of  the  spirits, 
and  vigorous  raps  were  given  in  reply.  [Laughter.]  I  would 
not  swear  that  all  this  actually  occurred,  but  it  seemed  to  me 
as  though  it  did. 

The  Court  then  adjourned  for  luncheon,  and  after  a  brief 
interval  the  proceedings  were  resumed. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  then  further  cross-examined.  She 
said,  I  was  never  myself  a  "medium,"  but  I  have  very  often 
seen  visions  of  my  mother ;  and  I  communicated  to  the  prisoner 
that  I  had  had  a  most  beautiful  vision  of  my  mother.  This 
referred  to  my  dream  when  I  was  in  the  garden  with  Mr. 
Fletcher. 


THE   TESTIMONY   AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      207 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Are  you  quite  sure  that  your  mother  was 
with  you  on  this  occasion  ? 

Witness.  — Oh,  yes  ! 

Mr.  Addison. — Was  "  J.,"  whom  you  speak  of  in  your 
diary,  your  husband  ?    Was  it  "  Jemmy"  ?    [Laughter.] 

Witness. — I  wish  you  wroukl  speak  of  my  husband  re- 
spectfully.    [Laughter.] 

Cross-examination  continued.  —  I  cannot  tell  who  were 
mediums,  and  who  were  not.  Perhaps  the  whole  of  us  are 
mediums:  I  cannot  tell.  The  matters  I  entered  in  my  diary 
were  all  intended  to  be  a  truthful  description  of  what  oc- 
curred, so  far  as  I  could  understand  it.  I  put  down  what  I 
seemed  to  see  and  hear.  I  could  not  tell  whether  it  was  true, 
or  not. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  You  understand  the  meaning  of  a  medium? 

Witness.  —  There  are  many  kinds  of  mediums,  —  a  medium 
of  getting  a  dinner  and  other  things. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  And  I  suppose  there  is  a  medium  of  love. 
Where  was  poor  Mr.  Hart-Davies  during  all  the  time  you  were 
having  the  private  interviews  with  Mr.  Fletcher  ? 

Witness.  —  Sir ! 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Oh!  don't  he  emphatic.  I  only  want  to 
know  where  your  husband  was  all  the  time  these  things  hap- 
pened. 

Witness. — He  was  in  the  house,  and  he  objected  to  the 
seance  with  Mr.  Fletcher. 

Mr.  Addison.  — Did  Mr.  Fletcher  say  that  it  was  better  for 
your  husband  not  to  be  present  ?  —  Yes.  He  said  it  was  better 
no  one  else  should  be  present.  He  knew  all  that  was  taking 
place. 

Mr.  Addison. — Was  he  aware  of  the  taking  by  the  hand, 
and  the  shivering,  and  all  that  ?     [Laughter.] 


208  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Witness.  —  Yes. 

Mr.  Addison.  — Perhaps  lie  was  glad  to  get  his  mother-in- 
law  back  again  ? 

Witness.  — I  don't  know.  My  husband  had  been  a  soldier 
and  a  sailor.  When  the  first  interview  took  place,  he  sat  in  an 
arm-chair,  and  watched  us. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  He  did  not  shiver,  did  he  ?    [Laughter.], 

Witness.  —  No. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Did  he  say  any  thing  ?  —  No. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Not  even  "Shiver  my  timbers"  ?  [A  roar 
of  laughter.] 

Cross-examination  continued.  —  I  parted  with  Mr.  Hart- 
Davies  partly  for  private  and  partly  for  business  reasons,  but 
the  Fletchers  hastened  the  separation.  We  considered  it  advis- 
able to  live  apart,  and  that  each  of  us  should  find  our  way  to 
heaven  in  the  best  way  we  could.  My  husband  did  not  express 
any  astonishment  when  he  heard  the  first  message  came  from 
my  mother  in  heaven.  Dr.  McGeary  is  now  my  spiritual 
adviser  and  brother. 

The  witness,  in  answer  to  another  question  put  by  the 
learned  counsel,  said  it  was  a  lie. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  severely  reproved  the  witness  for  this, 
and  said  she  desired  to  be  treated  with  respect,  and  he  must 
insist  that  she  should  treat  other  persons  with  respect. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  burst  into  tears,  and  some  minutes  elapsed 
before  the  case  proceeded. 

In  further  cross-examination  she  said,  My  husband  was  not 
present  at  the  trances  that  afterwards  took  place,  and  Mr. 
Fletcher  desired  that  he  should  not  be  present.  I  am  quite 
sure  that  I  never  told  Mrs.  Fletcher  that  I  had  been  a  medium 
from  my  childhood,  and  that  I  had  heard  voices.  I  am  sure 
that  I  never  told  Mrs.  Fletcher  that  I  was  getting  rapidly  well 
under  her  husband's  treatment. 


THE   TESTIMONY  AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      209 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Did  you  ever  tell  her  that  you  could  not 
live  without  her  husband  ?    [Laughter.] 

Witness.  —  Never. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Could  you  have  lived  without  him  ? 
[Laughter.  ] 

Witness.  —  Certainly.  I  loved  the  defendant  and  her  hus- 
band as  saints,  and  I  looked  upon  them  as  saints. 

Mr.  Addison.  — Which  saint  did  you  love  best  ? 

Witness.  —  I  loved  one  as  well  as  the  other. 

Cross-examination  continued.  —  I  have  complained  of  my 
husband  intending  to  poison  me,  but  this  was  only  in  conse- 
quence of  what  other  people  tol'd  me.  I  never  accused  my 
husband  of  attempting  to  poison  me.  I  did  not  ever  say  that 
he  had  deceived  me  as  to  his  social  position,  and  that  he  had 
represented  himself  as  being  related  to  a  noble  duke,  when  in 
reality  he  was  only  a  common  sailor.  I  never  complained  to 
the  Fletchers  that  my  husband  had  pawned  some  of  the 
jewelry. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Did  you  never  tell  the  Fletchers  that  you 
wished  them  to  take  care  of  your  jewelry  for  fear  your  hus- 
band should  get  hold  of  it,  and  pawn  it  ? 

Witness.  —  I  never  said  so,  but  I  may  have  said  that  some 
of  the  jewels  had  been  made  away  with  in  order  to  supply  the 
necessities  of  my  husband.  I  never  complained  to  them  that 
my  husband  had  put  arsenic  in  my  wine. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Did  you  never  say  to  them  that  you  be- 
lieved in  the  affinity  of  spirits,  and  that  you  considered  Mr. 
Fletcher  the  counterpart  of  yourself  ? 

Witness.  —  No.  I  believed  in  the  affinity  of  spirits  on  this 
earth,  but  I  did  not  say  any  thing  about  Mr.  Fletcher.  I  fol- 
lowed them  like  a  sheep.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Was  it  not  you  who  proposed  to  form  a 


210  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

triangle,  or  trinity,  and  that  it  was  to  be  composed  of  the 
Fletchers  and  yourself  ? 

Witness.  — No.     It  was  they  who  suggested  it  to  me. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  And  did  you  not  say,  in  reply  to  the  obser- 
vation, that  if  the  triangle  were  formed,  and  you  went  to  live 
in  the  same  house  with  the  Fletchers,  your  position  would  be 
rather  ambiguous,  —  that  you  would  only  be  in  the  same  posi- 
tion as  five  hundred  other  sisters  were  ? 

Witness.  —  No. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  And  was  not  it  said  by  some  one,  that,  if 
the  arrangement  was  carried  out,  the  house  would  be  full  of 
"  troubles  "  ?     [Laughter.] 

Witness.  —  I  never  heard  another  thing  said. 

Cross-examination  continued.  —  I  do  not  remember  any  other 
persons  than  the  Fletchers  defrauding  me  of  my  property. 
My  husband  was  not  aware  that  I  had  placed  the  jewelry  in 
the  possession  of  the  Fletchers.  I  did  not  dare  to  tell  him  that 
I  had  placed  my  jewelry  in  the  hands  of  the  Fletchers  to  take 
care  of.  They  both  insisted  that  I  should  not  tell  my  husband 
that  I  had  given  them  the  jewelry.  A  great  cart-load  of 
boxes  was  taken  from  my  house  in  Vernon  Street  to  Gordon 
Street;  and  my  husband  wanted  to  know  where  they  were 
going  to,  and  I  told  him  they  were  going  to  the  Fletchers  to  be 
taken  care  of.  I  did  not  say  any  thing  to  my  husband  about, 
the  magnetism  that  was  in  the  jewels.  I  did  not  talk  to  him 
about  such  nonsense. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Oh!  nonsense,  was  it? 

Witness.  —  Well,  it  was  solemn  nonsense.  It  all  seemed 
a  mysterious  affair  to  me,  and  I  could  not  understand  it. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  But  your  husband  had  been  present 
when  your  mother  was  first  introduced  to  you  by  Mr.  Fletcher, 
while  he  was  sitting  in  the  arm-chair,  and  his  own  papa 


THE  TESTIMONY  AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      211 

was  introduced  on  this  occasion,  standing  behind  his  chair. 
There  was  no  reason  to  conceal  the  mysteries  from  him. 
[Laughter.] 

The  witness  went  on  to  state  that  it  was  always  understood 
that  she  was  to  have  her  property  back  whenever  she  wished 
to  have  it.  The  defendants  did  not  say  this,  but  it  was  always 
understood  that  this  was  the  arrangement  between  them.  It 
was  an  understood  thing  between  me  and  the  Fletchers,  that  I 
should  not  make  any  allusions  to  my  mother's  messages  in  my 
correspondence  with  them.  They  advised  me  not  to  write  any 
thing  about  these  messages.  I  don't  know  what  has  become 
of  the  letters  I  wrote  to  Dr.  Mack  (McGeary)  or  the  Fletchers, 
but  the  same  rule  applied  to  all  my  correspondence.  I  was 
told  not  to  tell;  and  I  promised  I  would  not,  and  kept  my 
word.  Mrs.  Fletcher  told  me  of  the  visions  she  had  seen  of 
my  mother,  and  her  description  of  her  appearance  appeared  to 
coincide  with  what  I  had  seen  myself.  She  was  present  when 
the  table  moved  in  the  way  I  have  described.  Mr.  Fletcher 
was  not  in  the  room,  but  he  knew  what  the  table  was  wanted 
for.  The  "moving  "  took  place  in  a  room  called  the  " Seance 
Room."  It  came  towards  me,  but  stopped  before  it  touched 
me.    [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Addison.  —  That  was  rather  fortunate. 

Witness. —I  was  rather  amused  by  the  occurrence.  The 
table  moved  first  one  leg,  and  then  the  other. 

Justice  Hawkins.  —  Like  a  fashionable  dancer.  [Laugh- 
ter.] 

Witness.  —  I  thought  the  affair  was  ridiculous,  but  I  did 
not  exactly  laugh  at  it.  While  the  table  was  dancing,  there 
were  loud  raps,  and  the  table  moved  rapidly. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams.  —  A  sort  of  double-shuffle. 
[Laughter.] 


212  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Justice  Hawkins. — What  sort  of  a  table  was  this  ex- 
traordinary table  ? 

Witness.  —  A  little  coffee-table. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Did  not  you  try  to  get  hold  of  it,  and  stop 
its  proceedings  ?  —  Oh,  no !  certainly  not.  I  did  not  think  it 
at  all  extraordinary  when  the  defendant  asked  me  to  look  into 
the  crystal  ball.  I  had  heard  of  such  things  being  done  among 
the  Egyptians  for  the  purpose  of  diving  into  futurity. 

Did  you  expect  to  see  a  man  with  a  brown  beard  writing  at 
a  table  in  the  crystal  ball  ? 

I  did  not  know  what  I  should  see.  But  when  I  looked,  and 
saw  the  man  with  the  brown  beard,  it  did  not  have  the  effect 
of  amusing  me  as  the  table-moving  had  done.  I  never  saw  any 
table-moving,  nor  heard  raps,  except  when  Mrs.  Fletcher  was 
present. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  You  are  tolerably  sharp  in  all  respects, 
except  when  you  are  dealing  with  mysteries,  I  believe,  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  ? 

Witness.  —  I  don't  understand  you.  She  went  on  to  say, 
At  the  time  the  table  moved,  there  were  raps ;  and  Mrs.  Fletcher 
called  out  to  the  spirits,  and  asked  what  they  wanted.  I  cer- 
tainly loved  Mrs.  Fletcher  very  much,  and  she  professed  to 
love  me. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Was  it  that  love  that  induced  her  to  give 
you  the  photograph  you  have  spoken  about?  Witness.  —  I 
cannot  say  what  induced  her  to  give  me  this  photograph.  Mrs. 
Fletcher  had  previously  told  me  that  some  of  the  photographs 
were  "naughty."  [A  laugh.]  In  the  letter  that  has  been 
called  "the  mutilated  letter,"  Mr.  Fletcher  appeared  to  attri- 
bute to  me  a  feeling  towards  him  which  was  totally  con- 
trary to  the  feeling  that  I  really  entertained  with  regard  to 
him. 


THE  TESTIMONY   AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      213 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Have  you  ever  been  "  scrunched  "  by  Mr. 
Fletcher?    [Laughter.] 

Witness. — Oh,  certainly!  And  Mrs.  Fletcher  encouraged 
him.     [Laughter.  ] 

Did  he  not  say  something  about  your  desire  to  trespass  on 
Mrs.  Fletcher's  ground  ?     [Laughter.] 

Witness.  —  I  looked  upon  it  as  an  insult.  I  did  not  know 
what  he  meant  by  Mrs.  Fletcher's  ground.  There  may  have 
been  five  hundred  Mrs.  Fletchers,  for  all  I  know.  [Laughter.] 
I  was  extremely  displeased  at  his  imputing  to  me  a  passion  for 
him  which  I  never  entertained  or  dreamed  of.  I  sent  his  letter 
and  my  reply  to  his  wife. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  You  knew  that  he  was  suggesting  some- 
thing that  was  very  wrong  ? 

Witness.  —  Yes.  I  was  angry,  and  thought  that  he  was 
impertinent. 

Mr.  Addison. — Did  he  not  entertain  this  idea  in  conse- 
quence of  your  telling  him  your  dream  about  walking  in  the 
garden  with  him  ? 

Witness.  —  I  think  that  had  something  to  do  with  it. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  I  see,  that,  in  one  of  the  letters,  there  is  a 
reference  to  your  being  in  Paris  with  the  defendant's  husband 
for  twenty-four  hours.  Did  any  "  cuddling  "  take  place  at  this 
time? 

Witness.  —  I  may  have  had  my  head  on  his  breast  while 
we  were  sitting  by  the  fire,  but  that  was  all. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Did  you  kiss  Fletcher  while  his  head  was 
on  your  breast  ? 

Witness.  —  I  cannot  say  how  many  times  I  have  kissed 
him,  but  I  always  kissed  him  as  a  brother. 

Did  you  kiss  him  hard  ?  —  I  do  not  know  what  you  mean. 
I  have  kissed  him  countless  times. 


214  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

You  really  do  not  know  what  kissing  hard  means?  —  I  do 
not. 

Were  you  all  night,  or  part  of  the  night,  in  this  position  ? 
—  No.  It  is  an  aggravation  of  the  offence  to  impute  such 
conduct  to  me. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  about  to  say  something  more,  when 
Mr.  Montagu  Williams  begged  her  to  be  quiet,  and  answer  the 
questions  put  to  her,  and  not  make  speeches. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Do  let  your  witness  alone,  Mr.  Williams. 
Let  her  tell  her  own  story.     [A  laugh.] 

Cross-examined. — I  was  not  aware  that  the  defendant  or 
her  husband  treasured  up  the-  letters  that  I  sent  to  them.  I 
know  nothing  about  them,  or  what  became  of  them.  Since 
my  return  from  America,  I  have-  not  taken  any  steps  to  find  my 
husband,  and  I  have  not  seen  my  trustee;  but  I  have  seen 
my  son.  I  have  seen  Dr.  Mack  several  times  since  my  return, 
but  not  everj-  day,  because  he  has  a  very  large  practice. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Practice  as  what  ? 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies.  —  Is  your  memory  so  short  ?  [Laugh- 
ter. ]  I  have  told  you  before  what  he  is.  He  is  a  mesmerizing 
doctor. 

I  believe  he  is  now  your  spiritual  brother. 

Witness.  —  Yes,  he  is. 

Does  he  mesmerize  you  ?  —  No. 

What  sort  of  a  passion  did  you  entertain  for  Capt.  Lind- 
mark? —  The  affection  of  a  trusting  young  heart, — nothing 
improper. 

By  Mr.  Addison.  —  I  introduced  Lindmark  to  the  Fletch- 
ers while  my  husband  was  alive. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  said  he  really  could  not  see  the 
relevancy  of  this  line  of  examination;  and  it  appeared  to  him 
that  the  matter  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  real 


THE   TESTIMONY  AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      215 

question  at  issue,  which  was,  whether  the  defendant  and  her 
husband  had  conspired  to  cheat  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  of  her  jew- 
els. Even  assuming  that  the  latter  had  acted  immorally,  of 
which  he  was  far  from  saying  there  was  the  slightest  proof  ap- 
parent to  him,  this  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  real  question. 

Mr.  Addison  assured  his  lordship  that  he  considered  it 
most  material  that  the  prosecutrix  should  be  cross-examined 
upon  these  matters. 

Cross-examination  continued.  —  I  have  seen  Capt.  Land- 
mark in  Mrs.  Fletcher's  room.  I  was  divorced  from  my  first 
husband  in  1875,  and  I  was  in  France  when  the  divorce  was 
pronounced.  I  did  not  defend  the  suit,  because  I  was  instructed 
to  take-ihat  course  by  my  friends  to  get  rid  of  a  bad  husband. 
I  was  quite  innocent  of  any  charge  of  adultery  which  was 
alleged  against  me.  I  was  charged  with  having  committed 
adultery  with  a  foreigner  named  Armenio.  I  had  been  living 
with  my  then  husband  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  I  was  going  to 
Rio  to  join  my  husband :  and  Armenio  was  introduced  to  me 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  care  of  me  during  the  voyage;  but  I 
swear  positively  over  and  over  again  that  there  was  not  any 
improper  conduct  between  myself  and  Armenio  on  board  the 
ship. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams  again  interposed,  and  submitted 
that  an  inquiry  of  this  kind  ought  not  to  be  proceeded  with, 
as  it  clearly  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  before  the 
Court. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  said  he  really  could  not  see  what  the 
conduct  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  to  do  with  this  case.  Sup- 
posing she  had  acted  immorally,  what  then  ? 

Mr.  Addison  said  the  defendant  had  been  charged  with 
giving  the  prosecutrix  indelicate  photographs,  and  it  appeared 
to  him  very  important  to  show  what  kind  of  woman  the  prose- 
cutrix really  was. 


216  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN   PRISON. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  said  he  had  every  confidence  in  the 
learned  counsel,  and  he  would  say  no  more  upon  the  subject. 

The  cross-examination  of  the  prosecutrix  was  then  pro- 
ceeded with.  She  said,  There  was  nothing  wrong  in  my  con- 
duct, and  I  only  submitted  to  this  course  for  the  reasons  I 
have  stated:  that  I  can  swear.  The  photographs  I  possess  are 
likenesses  of  myself  and  Armenio.  He  was  an  Italian.  I 
have  written  to  him  in  Italian,  but  I  did  not  write  any  thing 
in  those  letters  that  was  improper. 

Mr.  Addison  then  proposed  to  read  various  passages,  in  the 
witness's  letters  to  Armenio;  but  it  was  objected  to  by  Mr. 
Montagu  Williams,  and  the  learned  judge  ruled  that  such  evi- 
dence was  not  admissible. 

Some  letters  were  here  handed  to  the  learned  judge  by  Mr. 
Addison;  and,  after  having  read  them,  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins 
said  it  appeared  to  him  that  they  were  utterly  worthless  as 
regarded  the  present  inquiry.  He  added,  that,  in  his  opin- 
ion, if  the  jury  had  the  whole  of  the  letters  placed  in  their 
hands,  and  they  read  them  from  beginning  to  end,  they  would 
not  in  any  way  influence  their  minds  upon  the  main  question 
they  had  to  decide. 

The  cross-examination  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  then  pro- 
ceeded with.  She  said  Capt.  Lindmark  accompanied  them 
to  America,  but  she  was  not  angry  at  his  paying  attentions  to 
Mrs.  Fletcher. 

Was  he  not  at  that  time  your  lover  ?  —  I  swear  that  he  was 
not.  [A  sketch  of  the  witness  and  Capt.  Lindmark  was  handed 
to  the  witness,  and  she  said  that  it  was  made  by  her  two  years 
ago.] 

A  long  technical  discussion  took  place  upon  the  point 
whether  this  sketch  could  be  legally  put  in  evidence  in  the 
present  case.    In  the  result,  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  ruled  that 


THE  TESTIMONY   AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      217 

the  sketch  was  not  receivable  as  evidence  on  the  present 
charge. 

Mr.  Addison,  upon  this  intimation  from  the  Court,  said  he 
would  withdraw  the  letters. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  in  further  cross-examination,  said  that  it 
was  a  very  common  expression  to  call  each  other  "  darling," 
"  love,"  and  "  sweet  brother  and  sister,"  and  similar  terms.  I 
do  not  recollect  that  I  have  pictured  myself  as  a  wild  lioness 
and  a  tame  lioness. 

Mr.  Addison. — I  believe  you  are  very  passionate  when 
you  are  roused  ? 

Witness.  — I  am  not  aware  of  it.     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  (to  whom  the  picture  referred  to  had 
been  handed)  said,  I  see  nothing  particular  in  it.  It  rep- 
resents a  young  lady  with  her  arms  folded,  and  in  a  despond- 
ing mood ;  and  then  the  same  young  lady  is  represented  with 
her  fist  clinched,  and  apparently  striking  at  something  that 
looks  like  a  cocoanut.     [Laughter.] 

Cross-examination  continued.  —  I  attended  the  camp-meet- 
ing at  Montague.  These  meetings  were  of  a  spiritual  character, 
and  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  some  of  the  party  are  rep- 
resented to  be  present.  There  were  some  Shakers  there. 
[Laughter.  ] 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins.  —  There  were  no  "shiverers,"  I 
suppose  ? 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Shakers,  Shiverers,  and  Spiritualists,  I 
suppose,  all  fraternized  at  these  meetings  ?.  Was  Dr.  Mack  a 
Shaker  ? 

Witness. —You  had  better  ask  him  Mhat  he  is,  for  he 
certainly  is  not  a  Shaker.  He  and  all  my  other  Spiritualist 
friends  thought  that  I  had  been  humbugged  by  the  Fletchers, 
and  he  told  me  so.    I  consider  that  Dr.  Mack  has  acted  in  a 


218  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Christian  manner  to  me.  My  eyes  were  opened  when  I  got  to 
America;  and  I  knew  that  I  had  not  seen  my  "mamma,"  and 
that  I  had  been  cheated  by  the  Fletchers.  I  was  satisfied  that 
my  mother  had  never  addressed  any  such  message  as  desiring 
me  to  give  to  the  Fletchers  all  the  property  I  possessed  in  the 
world.  I  cannot  tell  whether  my  niothe*-  had  ever  really  been 
in  communication  with  me;  but  from  what  I  heard  from  Dr. 
Mack  I  was  quite  satisfied  that  all  the  pretended  messages  to 
me  from  my  mother,  enjoining  me  to  give  my  jewelry  to  the 
Fletchers,  were  impositions. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  in  answer  to  questions  put  by  the 
learned  judge,  said,  After  my  mother's  death  I  continued,  as 
I  believed,  to  hold  communication  with  her;  and  during  her 
lifetime  there  had  never  been  any  cessation  of  the  affectionate 
and  friendly  intercourse  that  had  existed  between  us.  We  had 
several  intimate  friends ;  but  the  only  person  she  wished  me  to 
apply  to  for  advice  and  counsel,  in  case  of  emergency,  was  a 
gentleman  named  Sampson.  He  is  dead.  My  mother  during 
her  lifetime  often  spoke  to  me  about  her  jewelry  and  other 
property,  and  she  wished  me  to  inherit  the  whole  of  it. 

Dr.  Mack,  alias  McGeary,  gave  testimony  similar  to 
that  given  at  Bow  Street.  It  was  to  the  effect,  that  as 
soon  as,  furnished  with  a  power-of-attorney,  he  had 
demanded  Mrs.  Hart-Davies's  propert}-  in  America,  it 
had  been  restored  to  her  ;  Mr.  Fletcher  saying  he  was 
sony  she  had  not  herself  asked  for  it,  instead  of  em- 
ploying another  person.  In  his  cross-examination  he 
stated  that  he  took  a  solemn  oath  in  America  that 
he  would  not  leave  the  country,  and  was  held  in  recog- 


THE   TESTIMONY  AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      219 

nizances  of  fort}r  thousand  dollars.  Notwithstanding, 
he  came  to  England,  breaking  his  oath,  and  forfeiting 
his  bond,  to  assist  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  in  getting  her 
property  from  22  Gordon  Street. 

Mr.  Francis  of  the  firm  of  Field,  Koscoe,  &  Co.,  a 
London  solicitor  to  whom  Mr.  Morton  had  brought 
letters  of  introduction  from  Boston,  and  to  whom  he 
had  introduced  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  when  she  wished  to 
make  a  will,  testified  that  — 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  appeared  to  be  a  very  shrewd  woman  of 
business,  and  perfectly  able  to  manage  her  affairs,  and  seemed 
remarkably  clear  about  her  will.  Sbe  accounted  for  leaving  all 
her  property  to  the  Fletcbers  by  saying  she  did  not  wish  her 
husband  to  have  any  of  it,  and  the  Fletchers  had  been  very 
kind  to  her,  and  they  might  as  well  have  it  as  anybody  else. 
The  witness  said  that  Mr.  Morton  was  a  member  of  the  Boston 
bar,  and  of  good  standing. 

In  reply  to  a  question  put  by  Mr.  Montagu  Williams,  the 
witness  said  that  Mr.  Morton  was  at  his  office  last  Monday, 
and  he  complained  of  having  been  mixed  up  in  such  an  un- 
pleasant business.  He  said  that  he  had  come  over  from  Amer- 
ica in  the  expectation  that  he  could  have  given  evidence ;  and 
he  found  he  could  not  do  so,  because  he  was  included  in  the 
charge. 

The  marriage-settlement  of  the  prosecutrix  was  then  pro- 
duced, and  this  closed  the  case  for  the  prosecution. 

Mr.  Addison  took  exception  to  the  eighth  count,  which 
charged  a  conspiracy  to  cheat  and  defraud  Mrs.  Davies  of 
property  which  was  for  her  sole  and  separate  use,  on  the 
ground  that  there  was  no  evidence  that  such  property  was  for 


220  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

her  sole  and  separate  use.  The  false  pretence  charged  in  rela- 
tion to  the  deed  of  gift  was  not,  he  argued,  the  false  pretence 
contemplated  by  the  statute,  as  the  lady  was  well  aware  of  the 
nature  of  the  deed  when  she  signed  it;  and,  moreover,  she  had 
said  that  it  was  simply  executed  as  a  means  of  protection,  and 
that  it  was  never  intended  that  it  should  operate.  The  sixth 
count  of  the  indictment  was  a  conspiracy  to  steal,  of  which 
there  was  no  evidence.  A  second  objection  on  the  second 
count  was,  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  to  steal  the  goods  of 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  whereas  she  was  a  married  woman.  The 
general  objection  he  had  to  raise  upon  the  conspiracy  counts 
was,  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher,  being  husband  and  wife,  could 
not  conspire  together;  and,  that  being  so,  they  could  not  con- 
spire with  a  third  person.  Supposing,  however,  a  conspiracy 
could  be  made  between  them  and  Morton,  there  was  no  evi- 
dence whatever  of  Morton  having  combined  with  the  husband 
and  wife  to  obtain  the  goods.  As  to  the  first  three  counts, 
which  alleged  false  pretences,  the  learned  counsel  argued  that 
the  spiritual  manifestations  under  which  it  was  said  that  the 
property,  was  obtained  could  not  be  regarded  as  a  false  pretence. 
Indeed,  it  would  be  a  most  dangerous  thing  to  say  that  the 
statements  of  people  in  connection  with  their  religious  belief 
were  capable  of  being  made  false  pretences.  On  the  doctrine 
of  coercion,  he  submitted  that  the  husband  was  the  person 
who  had  been  the  main  mover  in  obtaining  the  property,  and 
that  the  prisoner  was  introduced  by  him  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
in  the  first  instance. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams  replied  at  length;  and  in  the  course 
of  his  remarks  he  cited,  in  support  of  the  case  for  the  prosecu- 
tion, the  Queen  vs.  Giles,  which  was  an  indictment  against  a 
woman  known  as  the  Wise  Woman  of  Newbury,  who  pretended 
to  bring  back  runaway  husbands  "  over  hedges  and  ditches"  to 


THE   TESTIMONY  AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      221 

their  wives.  She  received  money  for  so  doing.  In  that  case 
the  judges  held  that  this  was  a  false  pretence  within  the  mean- 
ing cf  the  Act,  and  that  the  prisoner  was  properly  convicted. 
He  further  urged,  that  the  counts  alleging  the  prisoner  to  have 
exercised  acts  of  witchcraft,  sorcery,  enchantment,  and  con- 
juration, were  supported  hy  the  evidence,  and  that  these  counts 
should  not  therefore  be  withdrawn  from  the  consideration  of 
the  jury. 

Mr.  Addison  said  he  wished  to  take  his  lordship's  opinion 
as  to  whether  he  should  call  witnesses.  He  had  a  large  body 
of  evidence,  which  Mrs.  Fletcher  earnestly  desired  he  should 
bring  forward ;  and  the  witnesses  were  persons  who  had  seen 
the  manifestations  by  Mr.  Fletcher  at  Steinway  Hall  at  differ- 
ent times,  and  who  said  he  possessed  the  powers  claimed  for 
him. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams.  —  You  objected  to  my  evidence 
upon  that  matter  yesterday. 

The  Judge. — What  do  you  think,  Mr.  Addison? 

Mr.  Addison. — Really,  my  lord,  I  must  stand  upon  my 
privilege.  I  don't  think  your  lordship  is  entitled  to  ask  what 
I  think. 

The  Judge.  —  It  really  comes  to  this,  —  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  prosecutrix  herself  says  that  she  really  did  believe 
these  things,  and  was  under  that  impression  for  a  long  while ; 
and,  if  you  are  to  believe  her  evidence,  there  were  a  great  many 
people  at  the  Steinway  Hall  who  also  expressed  their  belief. 
But  I  do  not  see  how  that  will  affect  this  particular  case  we  are 
dealing  with,  as  to  whether  these  pretences  were  made  with  a 
view  to  defraud  the  prosecutrix  of  her  goods.  A  great  num- 
ber of  persons  may  tell  us  that  they  believed  the  prisoner  had 
power  to  converse  with  spirits;  but  how  will  that  affect  the 
case? 


222  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  Well,  my  lord,  I  have  a  large  body  of  evi- 
dence of  gentlemen  of  position,  magistrates,  members  of  the 
Royal  Society,  and  gentlemen  of  high  literary  and  scientific 
attainments. 

The  Judge.  —  Supposing  you  take  the  case  of  an  ordinary 
conjurer,  who  represents  that  he  can  turn  a  bird  into  a  mouse 
and  back  again,  and  then  into  a  pinch  of  snuff  [laughter],  and 
people  believed  that  he  had  the  power  of  doing  it,  would  that 
affect  any  such  inquiry  as  this  ?  Could  any  one  prove  that 
Fletcher  had  any  communication  with  this  lady's  mother? 
You  may  call  evidence  as  to  character,  Mr.  Addison. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  These  gentlemen  would  come  and  say  that 
Fletcher  had  these  powers. 

The  Judge.  —  You  may  take  it  for  granted,  without  exhib- 
iting members  of  the  Royal  Society  here,  that  there  are  thou- 
sands of  people  who  believe,  not  only  that  Mr.  Fletcher  pos- 
sesses these  powers,  but  that  others  also  possess  them.  I  do 
not  see,  however,  how  these  people  can  support  the  proposition 
of  direct  communication. 

Me.  Addison.  —  Then  I  call  no  witnesses,  my  lord. 

I  looked,  and  still  look,  upon  this  as  a  fatal  sur- 
render of  my  rights,  and  of  the  duty  of  my  counsel  to 
defend  me.  It  was  my  right  that  the  facts  should  be 
given.  The  truth  is,  that  Mr.  Addison  did  not  believe 
in  the  evidence  which  he,  as  a  mere  matter  of  form, 
proposed  to  give.  In  his  mind  and  in  his  heart  he 
appeared  to  be  with  the  judge,  with  the  prosecution, 
with  a  large  majority  of  the  spectators  in  court,  and 
with  the  jury,  who,  being  of  the  usual  class  of  London 


THE  TESTIMONY  AND   CROSS-EXAMINATION.      223 

tradesmen,  had  no  knowledge  of,  and  of  course  no 
faith  in,  Spiritualism.  So  Mr.  Addison  surrendered  to 
the  ruling  of  the  Court,  and  decided  to  call  witnesses 
as  to  character  only.  Of  these,  though  they  were 
solemnly  sworn  to  tell  "  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and 
nothing  but  the  truth,"  regarding  the  case  on  trial,  he 
could,  according  to  English  procedure,  ask  but  one 
single  question,  —  that  as  to  the  reputation  of  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

SPEECHES   OF   COUNSEL,    WITNESSES    TO    CHARACTER,    AND 
A   FATAL   SURRENDER. 

By  not  calling  witnesses,  Mr.  Addison  obtained  what 
he  probably  considered  an  advantage :  he  got  the  last 
word.  But  in  that  he  reckoned  without  his  host.  He 
forgot  that  the  last  word  to  the  jury  would  come  from 
Mr.  Justice  Hawkins,  whose  animus  had  been  all  along 
sufficiently  evident. 

But  Mr.  Montagu  Williams  was  not  at  all  disposed  to 
give  up  his  own  rights  in  the  case.     He  said,  — 

I  must  stand  upon  my  rights,  and  claim  a  reply,  as  you  have 
read  a  letter  in  the  course  of  your  address. 

Mr.  Addison.  —  This  is  a  most  unusual  course  to  pursue 
on  the  part  of  a  prosecutor.  But,  standing  strictly  on  my 
right,  I  deny  altogether  that  the  letter  was  put  in  by  me.  It 
was  produced  by  the  policeman  Shrives  with  the  bundle  of 
letters  produced  on  behalf  of  the  prosecution. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins. —  It  matters  very  little  who  has 
the  last  word  when  we  have  an  intelligent  jury. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams,  in  answer  to  an  appeal  from  Mr. 
Addison,  said,  I  must  decline.    I  intend  to  stand  strictly  upon 
my  rights. 
224 


SPEECHES   OF   COUNSEL.  225 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins.  —You  are  here  on  the  part  of  the 
Crown,  Mr.  Williams;  and  if  there  has  been  a  misunderstand- 
ing, do  you  not  think,  on  the  part  of  the  Crown,  that  it  would 
be  better  that  you  should  waive  your  strict  rights  ?  It  is  not 
a  question  of  civil  rights.    We  are  trying  a  criminal  case. 

Mr.   Montagu  Williams    said,    that,   in    deference    to   the 
expression  of  opinion  by  his  lordship,  he  would  waive  his 
right  of  reply,  and  would  proceed  to  address  the  jury  upon  the 
evidence  he  had  adduced.    He  contended  that  it  had  been  fully 
proved  that  the  prisoner  had  obtained  the  property  belonging 
to  the  prosecutrix  by  false  and  fraudulent  pretences,  and  that 
she  did  conspire  with  her  husband,  or  with  her  husband  and 
Morton,  to  obtain  the  property  by  false  and  fraudulent  pre- 
tences.   If  she  did  either,  she  was  guilty  upon  the  indictment. 
He  did  not  think  there  could  be  a  doubt  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
was  a  witness  of  truth,  and  that  her  evidence  had  been  corrob- 
orated up  to  the  hilt  by  the  documents  he  had  produced.    The 
Fletchers  had  undoubtedly  played  upon  the  imagination  of  the 
prosecutrix,  and  the  fly  had  been  caught  in  the  web.     The 
prisoner  had  practised  a  sham;  and,  where  weak  women  were 
concerned,   such    people    as   the   Fletchers    were   dangerous. 
Attacks  had  been  made  upon  the  moral  character  of  the  prose- 
cutrix; but  what  was  there  to  support  the  insinuations,  except 
the  production  — the  disgraceful  production  — of  the  letters 
written  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  ten  years  ago  to  Capt.  Lindmark  ? 
But,  suppose  that  all  that  had  been  suggested  was  true,  what 
did  it  come  to  ?    In  what  position  did  it  place  the  prisoner  ? 
Why,  in  the  position  of  a  woman  who  was  conniving  at,  if 
not   planning,  her  husband's  adultery,  — a  woman   engaging 
in  a  most  revolting  intrigue.     He  maintained  that  the  evi- 
dence proved  the  prisoner  and  her  confederates  to  be  most 
dangerous  people.     Like  the  quicksand,   they  ingulfed  any 


226  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

wretched  person  who  came  within  their  reach.  The  defence, 
he  supposed,  would  be  that  the  goods  were  given  to  the  Fletch- 
ers for  safe  custody;  but,  if  so,  why  all  that  tomfoolery  about 
"  mamma"  ?  Why,  if  it  were  an  honest  and  a  bond  fide  trans- 
fer, was  it  necessary  to  invent  that  ridiculous  warning  to  the 
prosecutrix,  that  the  magnetism  in  her  was  so  strong  that  it 
would  be  dangerous  to  wear  the  jewels  ?  The  fact  was,  that 
the  prisoner  and  her  confederates  were  charlatans  and  jugglers, 
who  tried  to  shelter  themselves  from  the  consequences  of  their 
acts  under  the  profession  of  Spiritualism.  How  did  Mrs. 
Fletcher  take  care  of  the  jewelry  ?  Why,  by  wearing  it,  and 
carting  it  off  to  America.  If  the  property  was  placed  with  the 
Fletchers  only  for  safe  custody,  what  need  of  the  deed  of  gift,  or 
what  had  been  called  the  "  protection  letter  "  ?  To  Mr.  Francis, 
who  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  respectable  firms  of  solicitors 
in  London,  and  who  would  not  have  lent  himself  to  any 
thing  in  the  nature  of  a  fraud,  the  pseudo-lawyer,  Mr.  Morton, 
represented  that  the  codicil  executed  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was 
her  voluntary  act;  and  in  that  way  the  Fletchers  managed  to 
trick  the  woman  out  of  every  thing  she  had  in  the  world.  He 
could  not  conclude  without  saying,  that  he  considered  the  pro- 
duction of  the  Lindmark  letters  the  most  disgraceful  thing  that 
had  ever  been  attempted  in  a  court  of  justice.  These  letters 
were  written  by  prosecutrix  in  the  early  part  of  her  life  to  a 
man  for  whom  she  was  supposed  to  have  a  strong  affection. 
And  where  did  they  come  from  ?  They  must  have  come  either 
from  Lindmark,  or  the  prisoner;  and,  if  from  the  latter,  how 
did  they  get  into  her  possession  ?  In  the  whole  vocabulary 
there  were  not  words  sufficiently  strong  to  characterize  the 
conduct  of  a  man  who  would  give  up  a  woman's  love-letters 
for  the  purpose  of  crushing  and  degrading  her.  Such  a  man 
might  be  a  captain,  but  to  his  mind  he  was  neither  "hand- 


SPEECHES   OF   COUNSEL.  227 

some"  nor  gallant.  Thank  God  he  was  not  an  Englishman! 
In  conclusion,  Mr.  Williams  submitted  that  the  evidence  of 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  the  letters  of  the  Fletchers,  abundantly 
made  out  the  indictment  that  the  prosecutrix'  property  was 
obtained  by  false  and  fraudulent  pretences,  and  that  there  was 
a  deliberate  confederation  and  combination  to  obtain  that 
property.  The  law,  which  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  now  invoked, 
was  made  for  the  protection  of  the  weak  against  the  danger- 
ous; and,  if  the  jury  considered  that  the  case  for  the  prose- 
cution had  been  made  out,  they  would  by  their  verdict  give 
something  like  a  death-blow  to  a  system,  unfortunately  grow- 
ing up  in  this  country,  which  was  disastrous  in  the  extreme, 
and  which,  if  not  checked,  would  involve  many  in  speedy  and 
irretrievable  ruin.     [Applause  in  court.] 

The  case,  so  far  as  the  prosecution  was  concerned,  was  con- 
cluded on  Saturday;  and  on  Monday  morning,  on  Mr.  Addison 
rising  to  address  the  jury  for  the  defence,  Mr.  Justice  Haw- 
kins said  that  the  learned  counsel  need  not  trouble  himself 
about  the  last  count  of  the  indictment  (that  which  had  refer- 
ence to  a  conspiracy  to  defraud  by  witchcraft).  In  the  first 
place,  there  was  no  evidence  to  support  it;  and  the  count  was 
absolutely  bad  in  itself.  As  to  the  first  count,  he  wished  to 
know  whether  there  was  any  desire  on  the  part  of  the  prose- 
cution to  amend. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams.  —  I  do  not  see  any  necessity  to 
amend. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins. — Well,  I  shall  direct  the  jury  that 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  goods  were  for  defendant's  sole 
and  separate  use. 

Mr.  Montagu  Williams.  —  Then,  I  propose  to  ask  your 
lordship  to  strike  out  the  words  "  which  belonged  to  her 
for  her  sole  and  separate  use,  apart  from  the  control  of  her 
husband." 


228  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

Mr.  Addison  said,  that,  as  the  defendant  was  now  alone  upon 
her  trial,  he  submitted  that  the  Court  had  no  power  to  amend 
the  indictment,  in  which  other  parties  were  included. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  said,  that,  if  the  other  parties  came  in 
and  claimed  to  be  tried,  he  would  reserve  the  nice  point  that 
had  been  raised  by  Mr.  Addison  for  the  consideration  of  the 
Court  of  Criminal  Appeal.     [A  laugh.] 

His  lordship,  after  hearing  the  arguments  on  both  sides, 
amended  the  indictment  as  required. 

Mr.  Addison  submitted  that  there  was  no  evidence  on  the 
fourth  count,  which  was  the  general  conspiracy  to  defraud 
Mrs.  Davies  of  her  property. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins. — Unless  that  count  be  amended,  I 
am  inclined  to  think  so. 

Mr.  Williams.  —  I  submit  that  the  property  was  found  in 
the  possession  of  the  prisoner. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins.  —  But  Mrs.  Davies  is  a  married 
woman,  and  it  was  not  her  property. 

Mr.  Williams.  —  Then,  I  shall  propose  to  put  in  the  name 
of  the  husband  as  the  owner  of  the  property. 

Upwards  of  an  hour  was  occupied  in  making  other  amend- 
ments in  the  wording  of  the  many  counts  of  the  indictment. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  criminal  procedure  in 
Massachusetts  and  in  many  other  States  will  see  that 
I  could  not  have  been  convicted  if  I  had  been  on  trial 
at  h<3me.  In  the  United  States  generally,  the  allega- 
tions in  an  indi2tment  must  be  proved  as  stated ;  but 
in  England,  it  appears,  that,  when  the  proof  varies 
from  the  statement  of  the  case  in  the  indictment,  the 
Court  gives  the  prosecution  liberty  to  amend.     A  judge 


SPEECHES   OF   COUNSEL.  229 

in  Massachusetts,  at  the  point  we  have  now  reached  in 
the  trial,  would  have  promptly  directed  a  verdict  of 
acquittal  on  the  ground  of  variance.  Borrowing  a 
comparison  from  the  fisherman,  the  British  prosecutor 
has  the  liberty  to  use  a  gaff  and  landing-net,  as  well  as 
hook,  to  secure  his  victim. 

Mr.  Addison  then  asked  the  permission  of  the  Court  to  call 
some  witnesses,  who  were  anxious  to  get  away,  to  speak  to  the 
character  of  the  defendant,  before  he  addressed  the  jury.  This 
was  granted;  and  the  first  witness  called  was  Mr.  Desmond 
Fitzgerald,  who  said,  I  am  an  electric-telegraph  engineer,  and 
I  have  known  the  defendant  nearly  five  years,  ever  since  she 
came  to  this  country.  I  consider  her  a  polished,  disinterested, 
and  high-principled  gentlewoman. 

The  Very  Rev.  Maurice  Davies,  archdeacon  of  the  Church 
of  England,  gave  similar  evidence.  He  had  also  known  the 
defendant  five  years. 

Mr.  Dawson  Rogers  said  he  had  known  the  defendant  two 
years  and  a  half,  and  he  always  considered  her  an  honest, 
honorable  woman. 

Mrs.  Col.  Western  said  she  had  known  the  defendant  since 
she  had  been  in  London,  about  five  years ;  and  she  always  bore 
the  reputation  of  a  high-minded  woman. 

Mrs.  Mary  Boole,  a  lady  of  scientific  reputation,  also  spoke 
to  the  excellent  character  of  the  defendant.  She  said  she  con- 
sidered her  more  than  honest. 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  asked  the  witness  what  she  meant  by 
that  expression. 

The  witness  said,  because  defendant  and  her  husband  had 
many  opportunities  of  making  money,  which  they  would  not 
avail  themselves  of. 


230  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN   PEISON. 

Mr.  Frederic  Webley  and  Dr.  T.  L.  Nichols  of  South 
Kensington  gave  evidence  of  the  same  character.  The  last- 
mentioned  gentleman  was  one  of  the  defendant's  bail  for  her 
appearance  to  answer  the  present  charge. 

Dr.  Nichols,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Montagu  Williams,  said  he 
had  not  seen  the  defendant's  husband  lately.  He  had  written 
several  letters  in  the  newspapers  on  the  subject  of  this  charge, 
one  of  which  was  headed  "  Witchcraft  in  1SS1." 

Mr.  Hensleigh  Wedgewood,  formerly  a  police  magistrate  at 
the  Southwark  Court,  who  was  another  of  the  defendant's 
bail,  spoke  of  the  good  character  she  had  always  enjoyed 
among  those  who  knew  her. 

Several  other  gentlemen  and  ladies  of  position  gave  similar 
evidence. 

Mr.  Addison  then  proceeded  to  address  the  jury  for  the 
defendant.  He  said  that  at  last  they  had  arrived  at  the  close 
of  an  inquiry,  which,  although  interesting  in  some,  was  still  in 
many  respects  one  of  a  very  painful  character.  He  said  he 
would  not  dispute  that  his  learned  friend  had  conducted  the 
case  for  the  prosecution  very  fairly;  and,  if  the  result  had  de- 
pended upon  speeches,  he  should  have  gone  away  on  Saturday 
night  with  feelings  of  very  great  apprehension,  after  the  beau- 
tiful and  eloquent  speech  made  by  him.  The  defendant  was 
prejudiced  by  the  fact  that  the  prosecutrix  was  a  fascinating 
woman,  who  told  her  own  story,  and  who  by  her  demeanor 
and  appearance  was  most  likely  to  have  created  a  strong  im- 
pression on  the  minds  of  the  jury.  They  had,  however,  heard 
the  character  given  of  the  defendant  by  the  numerous  persons 
of  high  position  and  respectability  who  had  been  examined ; 
and  he  would  tell  them  in  the  first  instance,  that  Mrs.  Fletcher 
had  come  from  America  solely  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  this 
charge,  and  of  vindicating  her  character  in  the  eyes  of  the 


SPEECHES  OF  COUNSEL.  231 

numerous  persons  who  loved  and  respected  her,  and  who  she 
knew  considered  her  incapable  of  committing  such  an  act  as 
was  imputed  to  her.  The  jury  would  not  forget,  either,  that 
the  whole  of  the  property  of  which  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was 
alleged  to  have  been  defrauded  hud  been  restored  to  her. 
With  regard  to  the  husband  of  the  defendant  not  having  sur- 
rendered to  meet  the  charge,  the  defendant  had  nothing  to  do 
with  that.  He  might  have  his  own  reasons  for  not  coming 
voluntarily  to  trial ;  but  the  jury  had  nothing  to  do  with  them ; 
and  the  only  question  they  had  to  decide  was  whether  the 
defendant  was  guilty  of  the  offences  of  which  she  was  accused. 
He  argued,  that  the  husband  and  Mr.  Morton  had  been  in- 
cluded solely  for  the  purpose  of  endeavoring  to  convict  the 
defendant  of  conspiracy,  and  thus  make  her  responsible  for 
acts  that  perhaps  could  only  be  imputed  to  other  parties.  An 
endeavor  had  also  been  made  to  show  that  the  defendant  was 
a  witch;  but  his  learned  friend  who  had  tried  his  hand  at 
making  out  that  charge  did  not  know  how  to  do  it,  and  the 
witchcraft  counts  were  now  decided  to  be  hopelessly  bad.  He 
said,  that,  after  all,  the  substantial  charge  against  the  defend- 
ant was,  that  she  had  obtained  these  jewels  by  false  pretences, 
and  that  was  the  sole  question  upon  which  they  would  have  to 
give  their  verdict ;  but  he  hoped  in  the  result  to  satisfy  them 
that  the  defendant  had  never  made  any  false  pretences,  and 
that  there  was  no  ground  for  this  charge.  He  was  not  going 
to  enter  into  a  discussion  as  to  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  Spirit- 
ualism. A  great  many  witnesses  had  been  in  attendance,  who 
would  have  testified  their  belief  in  it,  and  have  stated  what 
wonderful  things  they  had  seen ;  but  he  was'not  surprised  that 
this  kind  of  evidence  had  been  rejected  by  his  lordship.  He 
would  only  observe  this,  that  if  the  Spiritualists  could  raise  the 
learned  judge  in  his  chair  to  the  ceiling,  or,  what  would  be 


232  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

a  more  difficult  task,  waft  the  worthy  alderman  who  sat  by 
his  side  through  the  ceiling  of  the  court  to  the  top  of  St. 
Paul's,  people  might  think  there  was  something  in  Spiritualism. 
[Laughter.]  As  it  was,  however,  whatever  persons  interested 
in  the  cause  of  Spiritualism  might  say,  the  world  generally 
would  certainly  entertain  grave  doubts  as  to  there  being  any 
power  in  Spiritualism.  He  should  therefore  confine  himself 
merely  to  the  facts  that  had  been  proved  in  evidence,  and  he 
should  contend  with  great  confidence  that  there  was  nothing 
to  show  that  the  defendant  had  in  any  way  deceived  or  de- 
frauded the  prosecutrix.  He  remarked  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies, 
who  had  now  found  a  near  spiritual  brother  in  Dr.  McGeary, 
admitted  that  she  fully  believed  in  the  truth  of  Spiritualism, 
and  was  under  the  impression,  long  before  she  knew  the  de- 
fendant, that  her  mother  had  communicated  with  her  from 
the  spirit-world.  He  put  it  to  the  jury  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
was  a  very  difficult  person  to  deal  with,  and  her  mind  was 
evidently  in  a  most  extraordinary  condition.  Although  he  did 
not  for  a  moment  desire  to  accuse  her  of  immorality  or 
improper  conduct,  still  he  must  ask  the  jury  to  consider  the 
account  she  had  given  of  herself,  the  peculiar  relations  that 
existed  between  her  and  her  husband,  and  her  admission  that 
she  had  consented  to  a  decree  of  separation,  and  submitted 
to  a  charge  of  adultery  for  which  there  was  no  foundation. 
Under  these  circumstances,  he  left  it  to  them  to  say  whether 
she  was  not  a  woman  of  a  very  extraordinary  character.  She 
was  described  by  a  gentleman  who  had  acted  as  her  solicitor, 
as  being  a  remarkably  shrewd,  clever  woman.  He  asked  the 
jury  to  look  at  the  conduct  of  the  prosecutrix  all  through  the 
transaction,  and  he  submitted  that  there  really  was  no  proof 
that  she  had  been  deceived  in  the  slightest  degree.  With 
regard  to  her  supposed  great  love  and  affection  for  her  mother, 


SPEECHES   OF   COUNSEL.  233 

they  would  not  forget  that  she  never  saw  her  mother  for  three 
years  before  her  death ;  and,  from  what  they  had  seen  of  the 
prosecutrix  and  her  peculiar  ideas,  the  probability  was  that 
they  would  have  quarrelled.  She  represented  that  she  had 
seen  her  mother  several  times  in  a  dream  or  a  vision  after  her 
death,  and  she  was  evidently  in  a  sickly,  morbid  state  of  mind; 
but  he  submitted  that  there  was  no  evidence  to  show  that  she 
had  been  deceived  by  any  representations  that  were  made  by 
the  defendant.  The  learned  counsel  went  on  to  comment  at 
considerable  length  upon  the  conduct  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies, 
and  he  asked  the  jury  whether  it  was  not  very  remarkable  that 
her  husband  had  not  been  called  to  corroborate  her  statement 
as  to  what  took  place  between  the  defendant's  husband  and 
the  prosecutrix  when  they  were  first  introduced  to  each  other. 
He  said  it  appeared  to  him  that  it  was  impossible  to  rely  upon 
the  testimony  of  such  a  woman  as  Mrs.  Hart-Davies.  He  then 
proceeded  to  urge  upon  the  jury  that  the  prosecutrix  had  sev- 
eral relatives  living,  that  she  had  trustees  and  various  other 
persons  who  took  an  interest  in  her,  and  yet  not  one  single 
person  had  been  called  as  a  witness  to  corroborate  her  story,  or 
to  tell  them  what  sort  of  a  woman  she  was.  He  said  it  could 
not  be  doubted  that  she  had  all  along  been  living  in  a  peculiar 
atmosphere  of  her  own,  and  that  she  could  not  give  her  atten- 
tion to  the  ordinary  relations  of  life.  They  had  heard  the  evi- 
dence given  by  Dr.  McGeary  with  regard  to  Spiritualism,  and 
the  astounding  miracles  he  represented  he  had  performed;  and 
he  asked  them  what  right  any  one  had  to  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  defendant  was  an  impostor,  when,  according  to 
all  the  facts  of  the  case,  she  believed  that  every  thing  she  said 
was  true  in  reference  to  the  visions  she  saw.  The  learned 
counsel  then  drew  an  amusing  picture  of  what  took  .place  at 
the  table-moving  in  Gordon  Street,  and  he  remarked  that  Mrs. 


234  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Hart-Davies  believed  in  the  truth  of  every  thing  she  saw  on 
this  occasion.  Mrs.  Fletcher,  the  defendant,  was  not  present, 
and  could  not  have  been  connected  with  an  imposture  of  any- 
kind,  if  such  imposture  had  actually  been  practised.  As  to 
the  crystal  ball,  he  contended  that  what  was  done  by  the  de- 
fendant was  nothing  more  than  the  exhibition  of  a  toy  of  some 
kind,  and  that  it  had  no  serious  signification  whatever;  and  the 
prosecutrix  was  not  deceived  in  any  way  by  what  occurred 
with  regard  to  this  crystal  ball.  He  next  proceeded  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  jury  to  the  extraordinary  state  of  things 
that  existed  between  the  parties;  and  he  submitted  to  the  jury, 
that,  having  regard  to  this  peculiar  condition  of  affairs,  it 
would  be  idle  to  suppose  that  the  prosecutrix  had  been  induced 
to  part  with  her  property  by  any  false  pretences  made  to  her  by 
the  defendant.  He  did  not  mean  to  accuse  the  prosecutrix  of 
wilfully  stating  what  was  not  true;  but  what  he  desired  to 
impress  upon  the  jury  was,  that  she  was  an  hysterical,  nervous 
woman,  who  was  under  a  variety  of  delusions  upon  this  par- 
ticular question,  and  whose  evidence  in  regard  to  such  trans- 
actions was  unworthy  of  credit.  The  learned  counsel  next 
gave  an  amusing  description  of  the  camp  at  Lake  Pleasant, 
and  said  they  could  hardly  imagine  what  extraordinary  scenes 
must  take  place  where  hundreds  of  Fletchers  and  Davieses 
assembled,  enlivened  by  Shakers  and  Shiverers.  [Laughter.] 
He  then  reminded  the  jury,  that,  during  the  whole  of  the  volu- 
minous correspondence  that  had  been  produced,  not  one  single 
word  was  said  about  Spiritualism,  and  that  the  real  under- 
standing between  the  parties  was,  that  the  jewels  should  be 
placed  in  Mrs.  Fletcher's  hands  for  safe  custody,  to  be  restored 
when  they  were  wanted;  and  he  said  it  appeared  to  him  that 
this  arrangement  had  been  fully  and  honorably  carried  out  by 
the  defendant,  and  that  there  was  not  the  least  pretence  for 


SPEECHES   OF   COUNSEL.  235 

the  charge  made  against  her,  of  having  obtained  the  jewels  by 
false  pretences.  It  was  also  pretty  clear,  that  the  defendant 
and  her  husband  did  not  like  to  incur  the  responsibility  of 
having  such  valuable  property  in  their  possession  without  hav- 
ing some  document  or  other  for  their  protection;  and  this  was 
the  explanation  of  the  application  that  was  made  to  Mr. 
Morton,  who  was  a  member  of  the  American  bar,  and  capable 
of  giving  advice  in  such  a  matter.  He  then  observed,  that  it 
appeared  to  him  to  be  a  most  extraordinary  thing  that  they  did 
not  appear  to  have  ever  had  any  authentic  statement  of  the 
actual  value  of  these  jewels  and  the  other  property,  and  that 
the  prosecutrix  herself  swore  that  her  mother's  property  was 
under  the  value  of  a  hundred  pounds  when  she  administered 
to  her  effects.  He  also  called  their  attention  to  the  fact  that 
neither  the  defendant  nor  her  husband  had  ever  pawned  or 
misappropriated  one  single  item  of  the  property  intrusted  to 
them.  He  said  that  the  prosecutrix  appeared  to  be  perfectly 
satisfied  with  the  Fletchers  retaining  possession  of  the  jewels 
until  she  met  Dr.  Mack  at  Lake  Pleasant,  and  immediately 
after  that  event  a  new  light  seemed  to  have  opened  upon  her; 
but,  the  moment  the  defendant  was  asked  to  give  up  the  prop- 
erty, she  did  so  at  once.  The  learned  counsel  then  referred  at 
considerable  length  to  the  alleged  loss  of  the  box  of  valuable 
lace,  and  he  argued  that  there  was  not  the  slightest  evidence 
that  any  property  of  this  description  was  ever  in  the  possession 
of  the  prosecutrix.  In  conclusion,  he  dwelt  upon  the  doctrine 
of  coercion,  and  said  that  whatever  had  been  done  by  the  de- 
fendant, even  if  they  should  take  an  adverse  opinion  of  her 
conduct,  was  done  under  the  control  and  coercion  of  her  hus- 
band, and  that  consequently  she  could  not  be  held  to  be 
criminally  responsible. 


236  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

For  the  defence  I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  further 
comment.  From  his  stand-point  he  doubtless  did  the 
best  he  could.  Had  he  known  more  of  his  case,  he 
would  undoubtedly  have  done  much  better.  When  I 
had  heard  it,  I  determined  then  and  there,  that,  if  ever 
my  liberty  were  again  imperilled,  I  would  save  my 
money,  and  possibly  some  lawyer's  reputation,  b}T  con- 
ducting my  own  defence.  It  may  be  that  no  English 
counsel  or  barrister  could  have  done  more.  What  I 
could,  and  I  now  see  should,  have  done,  was  to  avail 
nryself  of  the  onl}'  opportunity  I  could  have,  at  that 
time,  to  tell  my  own  story,  and  put  my  declaration 
from  the  prisoner's  dock  against  the  oath  of  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  in  the  witness-box. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

sir  henry  Hawkins's  charge  to  the  jury,  verdict, 
and  sentence. 

On  the  12th  of  April,  1881,  I  took  my  seat  for  the 
last  time  in  the  prisoner's  dock  of  the  Central  Crimi- 
nal Court,  and  saw  and  heard  the  last  of  Mr.  Justice 
Hawkins. 

The  summing-up,  or  charge  to  the  jury,  lasted  five 
hours.  Of  course  no  newspaper  could  give  it  entire ; 
and  I  can  only  give  the  fullest  and  most  accurate  re- 
port I  can  find,  which  in  this  case  seems  to  be  that 
of  the  "  Daily  News."  On  account  of  its  length,  the 
report  of  the  charge  is  placed  in  the  Appendix.  The 
presiding  justice  laid  down  the  law  in  regard  to  the  in- 
dictment _and  the  proof,  and  pointed  out  which  counts 
were  to  be  regarded  in  coming  to  a  verdict.  He  com- 
mented upon  the  testimony  as  it  affected  the  character 
and  credibility  of  the  prosecutrix,  and  as  to  the  value 
of  the  property  under  consideration.  He  declared  that 
the  evidence  fixed  no  culpability  upon  the  defendant 
Morton.     He  sketched  the  beginning  of  the  acquaint- 

237 


238  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

anee  between  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  and  Mr.  Fletcher, 
and  referred  pityingly  or  contemptuously  to  the  delu- 
sion of  spiritual  communications,  in  which  both  parties 
shared,  and  then  instanced  the  messages  purporting  to 
come  from  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  as  having 
been  continued  for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  the  prose- 
cutrix, and  inducing  her  to  part  with  her  jewels,  etc. 
He  argued  at  length  upon  the  deed  of  gift,  regarding 
it  as  fraudulent,  and  as  having  been  brought  about  by 
a  combination  or  conspiracy.  On  this  point  he  ex- 
pended most  of  his  force,  really  making  the  "  charge  " 
an  argument  for  the  prosecution,  instead  of  the  fair 
summing-up  of  an  impartial  judge.  It  was  far  more 
searching  and  more  malignant  than  the  speech  of  Mr. 
Montagu  Williams. 

I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  mark  a  few  sentences  of 
this  charge  with  Italics.  The  reader  will  see  how  the 
whole  case  rested,  first,  upon  the  belief  of  the  jury 
in  the  absolute  truthfulness  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and, 
secondly,  upon  their  disbelief  of  any  truth  whatever  in 
spiritual  manifestations.  It  was  necessaiy,  therefore, 
that  the  character  of  this  witness  should  be  known, 
and  that  witnesses  should  be  called  who  could  testify 
to  the  reality,  the  genuineness,  and  the  nature  of  spir- 
itual manifestations.  All  this  was  shut  out.  I  could 
not  call  Mr.  Morton,  because  the  government  prose- 
cutors had  included  him  in  the  indictment ;  and  when 


CHARGE  TO  THE  JURY.  239 

I  proposed  to  call  witnesses  of  the  highest  position 
and  character  to  prove  that  spirits  could  and  often  did 
speak  to  their  friends,  and  give  them  advice  as  to  their 
affairs,  the  judge  absolutely  refused  to  receive  such 
evidence.     I  continue  to  quote  the  newspaper  report. 

"His  lordship's  summing-up  occupied  five  hours,  and  at  its 
conclusion  the  jury  retired  to  consider  their  decision.  After 
an  absence  of  little  more  than  three  hours  and  a  half,  they 
returned  into  court  with  a  verdict  of  guilty  on  the  counts 
charging  the  obtaining  of  the  goods  by  false  pretences.  Upon 
the  counts  charging  conspiracy,  they  found  the  prisoner  guilty 
of  having  conspired  with  her  husband,  but  not  with  Morton, 
to  obtain  the  goods;  and,  upon  the  count  charging  conspi- 
racy to  obtain  the  execution  of  the  deed  of  gift  by  fraudulent 
pretences,  they  found  the  prisoner  guilty  of  having  conspired 
with  her  husband  and  Morton.  The  jury  further  found  that 
the  prisoner  had  not  acted  under  the  coercion  of  her  husband. 

"  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins,  addressing  the  prisoner,  said,  ■  Su- 
san "Willis  Fletcher,  you  have  been  convicted,  after  a  very  long 
and  patient  trial,  of  having  obtained  a  large  quantity  of  prop- 
erty from  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  by  false  pretences,  in  company 
with  your  husband;  and  the  jury  have  also  found  that  you 
have  been  guilty  of  conspiring  with  your  husband  and  a  person 
named  Morton  to  procure  the  execution  of  a  deed  of  gift. 
They  have  further  found  you  guilty  of  conspiring  with  your 
husband,  without  Morton,  of  obtaining  those  goods  by  false 
pretences.  Although  a  great  many  counts  have  been  inserted 
in  this  indictment,  yet,  considering  the  whole  of  the  evidence, 
I  look  upon  it  in  substance  as  but  one  offence ;  and  I  cannot 
help  saying  that  I  think  the  verdict  of  the  jury  is  perfectly 


240  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

satisfactory.  Indeed,  believing,  as  it  is  evident  they  do,  the 
testimony  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  looking  at  the  correspond- 
ence before  me,  I  do  not  see  that  the  jury  could  have  come  to 
any  other  conclusion.  And,  moreover,  I  think  the  jury  have 
come  to  a  right  conclusion  in  considering  that  you  were  not 
acting  under  the  coercion  of  your  husband  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  make  you  irresponsible  to  the  criminal  law.  It  becomes 
unnecessary  for  me,  in  considering  the  findings  of  the  jury,  to 
reserve  any  question  of  law  for  the  consideration  of  the  Crimi- 
nal Court  of  Appeal ;  and  I  therefore  decline  to  do  so.  I  have 
now  only  to  consider  what  sentence  I  am  to  pass  upon  you  for 
the  offence  of  which  you  have  been  found  guilty.  You  are 
standing  here,  and  since  the  commencement  of  this  trial  you 
have  stood  here  alone,  unsupported  by  your  husband.  If  he 
were  here,  I  should  have  a  great  deal  more  to  say  upon  the 
subject  than  I  have  to  say  to  you;  because,  although  the  jury 
have  rightly  found  that  you  were  not  acting  under  the  coer- 
cion of  your  husband  in  a  sense  which  would  have  rendered 
you  irresponsible  for  your  acts,  yet  I  cannot  help  thinking  that 
it  was  through  him,  and  through  his  professions  and  his  pre- 
tences, that  you  were  first  of  all  yourself  induced  to  embark 
upon  a  fraudulent  conspiracy  upon  which  you  unquestionably 
did  embark.  I  cannot  help  thinking,  that  but  for  his  designs, 
his  counsels,  and  evil  influence,  you  might  yourself  have  ab- 
stained from  attempting  these  frauds,  and  making  those  false 
and  fraudulent  pretences  which  you  did.  I  take  that  into 
consideration  in  passing  sentence  upon  you.  In  the  result  it 
comes  to  this,  that  you  found  a  very  weak,  credulous,  foolish 
woman,  who  was  open  to  all  the  flattery  which  you  thought 
fit  to  bestow  upon  her.  You  knew  very  well  that  she  pro- 
fessed to  have  a  great  attachment  for  her  dead  mother,  and 
you  worked  upon  those  affections ;  and  you  were  tempted  by 


CHARGE   TO  THE  JURY.  241 

the  sight  of  her  jewelry  and  valuable  property  to  work  upon 
her  by  pretending,  falsely  pretending,  that  her  dead  mother 
had  sent  messages  to  her,  begging  her  to  put  her  jewels  and 
clothes  into  your  possession,  or  that  otherwise  she  would  be 
speedily  sent  into  spirit-life,  because  of  the 'magnetism  that 
was  in  them.  It  was  a  miserable,  mean,  paltry  trick  which 
you  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  getting  possession  of  her 
property.  Fortunately,  very  fortunately,  she  has  succeeded 
in  obtaining  possession  of  the  greater  part  of  it.  There  is 
another  part  which  has  yet  to  be  recovered;  and  I  do  not  know 
how  much  of  that  which  you  have  obtained  is  still  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  are  in  a  condition  to  give  it  up.  I  take 
all  the  circumstances  into  consideration ;  and  I  look  upon  your 
case  as  one  in  which  you  most  unquestionably  were  guilty  of 
the  false  pretence  which  is  proved  against  you,  and  unques- 
tionably guilty  of  having  acted  without  that  coercion  which 
would  have  protected  you  in  point  of  law. 

"  '  I  am  not  going  to  pass  sentence  upon  you  for  any  thing 
except  that  of  which  you  have  been  found  guilty.  I  myself 
feel  that  there  is  a  great  deal  in  these  letters  which  shows  to 
my  mind  that  both  you  and  your  husband  had  entered  into  — 
I  do  not  like  to  call  it  a  conspiracy,  in  one  sense,  but  into  a 
filthy  league  to  throw  this  wretched  woman  into  the  hands  of 
your  husband.  That  is  not  a  matter  for  which  I  am  going  to 
punish  you,  because  it  is  a  matter  of  immorality,  which  the 
criminal  law  does  not  punish;  and,  if  the  criminal  law  does 
not  punish  it,  I  have  no  right  to  take  it  into  consideration. 
At  the  same  time  it  shows  how  little  you  deserve  the  character 
which  a  great  number  of  witnesses  thought  fit  to  go  into  the 
witness-box  to  give  you,  one  of  them  stating  you  to  be  almost 
a  model  of  purity,  honor,  and  honesty. 

"  'I,  nevertheless,  take  into  consideration  this  circumstance, 


242  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

that,  but  for  your  husband,  you  never  would  have  embarked 
in  such  a  fraud  as  this,  or  have  been  guilty  of  those  false  pre- 
tences which  have  brought  you  within  the  pale  of  the  crimi- 
nal law.  Under  these  circumstances  I  shall  not  pass  upon  you 
the  sentence  which  the  law  would  authorize  me  to  do.  The 
law  would  authorize  me  to  send  you  into  penal  servitude;  but 
the  sentence  which  I  pass  is,  that  you  be  imprisoned,  and  kept 
to  hard  labor,  for  the  term  of  twelve  calendar  months.' 

"The  prisoner,  who  throughout  the  hearing  of  the  case 
had  maintained  a  calm  demeanor,  was  but  slightly  affected  by 
the  seutence.     She  was  at  once  removed  to  the  cells." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

SOME    COMMENTS    ON   THE    CASE. 

I  can  well  believe  that  I  did  not  appear  to  be  much 
affected  by  the  sentence.  I  was  fully  prepared  for  it. 
Sir  Henry  Hawkins  had  his  jury  well  in  hand.  The 
government  expected  him  to  do  his  work,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  the  sentence  had  been  discussed  and 
settled  beforehand.  Seven  or  eight  of  the  jurors, 
including  a  peculiarly  active  and  hard-headed  secular- 
ist-looking foreman,  had  early,  I  fear  very  early, 
made  up  what  they  called  their  minds  to  do  their  part 
to  "crush  out  Spiritualism."  That  some  were  in 
doubt,  and  one  or  two  even  disposed  to  be  friendly  to 
me,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  they  kept  me  in  what 
might  have  seemed  a  dreadful  suspense  for  more  than 
three  hours  and  a  half.  I  was  in  no  suspense  what- 
ever. I  knew,  rather  I  felt,  and  had  felt  for  days, 
what  would  be  the  verdict.  I  knew  that  I  should  be 
condemned  without  a  hearing. 

Xot  one  word  from  me,  from  first  to  last,  had  the 
jury  that  tried  me  heard  me  speak,  save  the  two  formal 

>     243 


244  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

words,  "Not  guilty."  In  justice  to  Mr.  Addison  I" 
have  given  the  best  report  I  could  find  of  his  argument. 
My  own,  had  I  been  allowed  to  make  one,  would  have 
been  very  different.  The  jury,  if  at  all  fair-minded 
men,  must  have  wished  to  know  what  I  would  say 
about  it.  I  am  glad,  since  my  silent  conviction,  and 
so  many  other  failures  of  justice,  —  a  few  of  which 
have  come  to  light,  where  persons,  after  enduring 
years  of  penal  servitude,  have  been  found  to  be 
perfectly  innocent  of  the  crimes  of  which  the}7  were 
accused,  —  that  prisoners  are  to  be  heard  ;  glad  that 
the  very  judge  that  sentenced  me  has  given  his  sanc- 
tion to  a  more  humane  procedure.  I  predicted  at  my 
conviction  that  I  should  be  among  the  last  to  be  in 
that  court  convicted  unheard. 

The  sentence  itself  was  unexpectedly  light.  Five 
years  of  penal  servitude  was  the  least  I  had  looked 
for.  Certainly,  if  I  had  been  guilty,  I  had  deserved 
that,  and  more.  A  post-office  letter  sorter  or  carrier 
who  steals  a  shilling's  worth  of  postage-stamps  from  a 
letter,  yielding  to  the  momentary  temptation,  perhaps 
purposely  placed  in  his  way,  gets  five  years  of  penal 
servitude  ;  and  I,  who,  according  to  Mr.  Justice  Haw- 
kins, had  deliberately  conspired  to  deceive  a  poor 
woman  in  the  most  detestable  way,  taking  advantage 
of  her  faith  and  affection  to  rob  her  of  thousands,  of 
all  she  had,  —  I,  whose  crime,  had  I  been  guilty,  was 


SOME   COMMENTS   ON    THE   CASE.  245 

a  thousand  times  blacker  than  that  of  any  highway  rob- 
ber or  burglar,  or  perpetrator  of  an  ordinary  commer- 
cial forgery,  was  sentenced  to  a  year's  imprisonment ! 

And  the  reason  for  this  extraordinary  lenity  was, 
that,  after  all,  I  might  have  acted  under  the  influence 
of  my  husband.  But  I  had  just  seen  a  woman  con- 
fessedly guilty  of  a  series  of  robberies  acquitted  be- 
cause the  jury  thought  she  might  have  had  a  husband, 
and  have  acted  under  his  influence.  If  my  husband 
had  made  me  join  him  in  deceiving  and  plundering  Mis. 
Hart-Davies,  the  judge  should  have  instructed  the  jury 
to  bring  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  But  if  I  was,  as 
he  charged,  the  originator  of  the  foul  conspiracy,  then 
I  deserved  the  severest  punishment  he  could  legally 
inflict.  And  if  I  had  been  guilty  of  the  immorality  of 
which  he  accused  me  by  his  summary,  surely  I  was 
unworthy  of  his  mere}'. 

I  cared  too  little  for  the  terms  of  the  sentence  to 
feel  any  indignation.  It  was  enough  to  know  that  it 
was  unjust,  and  to  have  an  entire  faith  that  judge  and 
jury,  my  prosecutors  and  the  public,  would  some  day 
know  its  injustice,  and  regret  it  more  than  I  did. 

There  was  one  point  I  thought  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins 
might  have  alluded  to.  I  think  it  was  worth  a  passing 
notice.  Perhaps  it  escaped  his  mind.  Had  I  been  on 
the  bench  in  gown  and  wig,  and  he  in  the  prisoner's 
dock,   I  should  certainly  have  mentioned  it.     It  was, 


246  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

that  as  soon  as  I  heard,  in  America,  of  the  accusation 
against  me,  I  came  to  England  to  meet  it.  I  had  no 
other  reason  or  motive  but  to  meet  my  accusers  face 
to  face. 

From  the  7th  of  December  to  the  day  of  my  sen- 
tence, on  the  13th  of  April,  I  had  been  at  perfect  lib- 
erty on  bail.  This  bail  was  renewed  from  day  to  day 
during  my  trial.  On  the  night  of  my  conviction,  when 
I  knew  my  fate  as  well  as  I  know  it  now,  I  could  have 
gone  by  the  night  mail  to  Paris.  Does  any  reader  of 
these  pages  believe,  had  I  been  the  mean  and  odious 
swindler,  the  sacrilegious  deceiver  and  robber,  I  was 
accused  of  being,  that  I  would  have  left  husband, 
child,  parents,  and  friends,  and  come  alone  to  Eng- 
land, aud  staid  here  all  through,  to  be  tried,  convicted, 
and  imprisoned?  Was  such  a  thing  ever  known  of 
any  criminal  in  the  world? 

Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  was  careful  not  to  even  allude 
to  it.  Did  the  "gentlemen  of  the  jury"  give  this 
matter  a  thought?  When  a  martyr  goes  to  a  prison 
or  the  scaffold  for  his  religion,  it  does  not  prove  that 
his  religion  is  true,  for  there  are  martyrs  to  all  sorts  of 
creeds  ;  but  it  is  a  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his  belief. 
Was  it  no  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  my  belief  in  Spir- 
itualism, that  I  came  to  England,  and  risked  penal 
servitude  for  it,  and  endured  Sir  Henry  Hawkins's  in- 
sults, and  the  much  lighter  suffering  of  twelve  months' 
hard  labor  in  an  English  prison  ? 


SOME   COMMENTS   ON   THE   CASE.  247 

I  was  not  alone  in  my  opinion  of  the  sentence  of  Sir 
Henry  Hawkins.  I  find  the  following  criticism  in  a 
legal  periodical  in  England,  —  the  "Law  Times"  of 
April  16,  1881:  — 

"  The  long,  lecture  delivered  by  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  to  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  when  passing  sentence  in  what  is  known  as  the  Spir- 
itualist Case,  may  have  had  a  salutary  effect  upon  public  mo- 
rality: we,  however,  are  disposed  to  doubt  it,  and  we  heartily 
deprecate  discourses  of  this  nature.  Such  discourses  are  the 
more  to  be  deprecated  where  jocularity  has  been  the  prevailing 
characteristic  of  the  trial,  the  jokes  not  being  by  any  means 
monopolized  by  the  bar  or  the  witnesses.  A  prisoner  incurs  a 
well-defined  punishment  by  committing  specific  crimes.  This 
is  all  that  the  law  ever  contemplates.  To  be  scolded  and  dis- 
coursed upon  by  the  judge  may,  in  some  cases,  be  a  severe 
"addition  to  the  statutory  punishment;  and,  where  the  prisoner 
is  a  woman,  the  severity  of  this  additional  punishment  may  be 
very  great." 

Others,  b}T  no  means  friendly  to  Spiritualism  or  "  the 
Fletchers,"  wrote  something  besides  paeans  of  praise 
about  the  trial  and  the  presiding  judge. 

The  correspondent  of  the  "  Western  Morning  News,' ' 
writing  at  the  close  of  the  trial  at  the  Old  Bailey, 
said,  — 

"  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  is,  perhaps,  the  worst  judge  on  the 
bench,  from  Mrs.  Fletcher's  point  of  view,  that  could  have 
been  appointed  to  try  a  Spiritualist  case.  He  has  no  toleration 
for  views  of  her  kind;  and  he  takes  a  cynical  view  of  life, 
founded  upon  a  not  very  favorable  experience  of  it,  which  does 


248  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

not  include  belief  in  mesmeric  trances,  or  the  devotion  of  Mr. 
Fletcher  to  the  high  spiritual  good  of  his  devotees.  Rarely  has 
a  judge  spent  a  more  enjoyable  week  than  that  which  his  lord- 
ship has  just  passed.  He  has  revelled  in  the  equivocal  and  in 
double  entendre.  He  has  hardly  spoken  without  that  curious 
twist  of  the  lips  which  has  been  more  eloquent  of  laughter 
than  laughter  itself.  To-day  his  summing-up  was  mildly  ironi- 
cal in  parts,  but  very  much  against  the  prisoner.  The  Spiritu- 
alists talk  of  instituting  actions  for  perjury  against  the  wit- 
nesses, and  especially  against  the  plaintiff.  They  hardly  expect 
to  win  in  such  an  attempt.  But  Mrs.  Fletcher  wants  to  tell  her 
own  tale,  '  to  set  herself  right  with  the  Spiritualists  of  England,' 
and  to  bring  back  sympathy  to  her  side.  Her  mouth  is,  of 
course,  closed  at  present.  By  including  other  persons  in  the 
indictment,  her  friends  were  also  prevented  from  giving  evi- 
dence ;  and  she  proclaims  that  she  will  not  rest  day  or  night 
until  she  has  forced  the  judges  of  England  to  listen  to  her 
explanations." 

How  this  writer  could  know  what  I  was  proclaiming 
in  my  solitary  cell,  in  which  I  was  locked  in  Tothill 
Fields,  Westminster,  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  clair- 
voyance or  clairaudience  known  to  newspaper  corre- 
spondents. 

The  editor  of  "  Light,"  the  leading  Spiritualist 
paper  in  England,  though  careful  not  to  defend  me 
himself,  as  he  could  not  prudently  have  done,  had  the 
fairness  to  publish  the  following  letter :  — 

To  the  Editor  of  "  Light."  Sir,  —  I  think  you  will  grant 
me  a  little  space  for  the  expression  of  some  individual  opinions 


SOME   COMMENTS   ON   THE   CASE.  249 

for  which  no  one  need  hold  you  responsible.  It  is  right  that 
allowance  be  made  for  my  personal  interest  in  the  case,  but  I 
think  I  have  a  right  to  be  heard. 

My  personal  interest  is  this.  I  am  an  American,  though 
now  for  twenty  years  resident  in  England;  and  Mrs.  Fletcher 
is  my  countrywoman,  severed  from  country,  friends,  parents, 
husband,  child.  She  is  also  my  friend,  whom  I  greatly  esteem 
for  many  talents  and  virtues,  —  eloquence,  wit,  great  kindness 
and  generosity,  heroic  courage,  and  unfaltering  fidelity.  Be- 
lieving in  her  thoroughly,  I  have  stood  by  her  side  during  this 
trial.  It  was  a  small  matter  to  become  one  of  her  bail,  a  tri- 
fling inconvenience,  with  no  risk;  because  a  woman  who  came 
across  the  Atlantic  in  mid-winter  to  meet  an  accusation  against 
her,  who  left  home,  country,  and  safety,  and  risked  penal  servi- 
tude, simply  and  only  to  meet  and  repel  an  accusation  which 
she  alleged  to  be  false,  was  not  likely  to  run  away.  This  heroic 
action  was  not  so  much  as  mentioned  by  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins 
in  his  charge  to  the  jury;  nor  has  it  been  even  hinted  at  in  the 
leaders  of  the  press  which  have  followed  the  conviction,  —  tor- 
rents of  abuse  which  take  the  place  of  the  dead  cats,  rotten 
eggs  and  worse,  of  the  times  of  the  pillory. 

In  many  ways  there  has  been  a  failure  of  justice.  The 
whole  case  of  the  prosecution  rested,  as  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins 
admitted,  upon  the  credibility  of  one  witness,  and  that  was  in 
no  way  tested.  Her  two  husbands,  relations,  trustees,  friends, 
were  absent.  Mr.  Morton,  who  might  have  given  important 
evidence,  and  who  came  from  America  to  do  so,  was  included 
in  the  indictment,  so  that  his  testimony  was  shut  out. 

The  prisoner  was  not  examined.  Her  story  is  yet  untold. 
This  is,  in  my  opinion,  a  horrible  feature  of  English  criminal 
procedure.  In  other  countries  a  person  accused  of  crime  can 
make  his  own  explanations.     I  have  seen  a  man  convicted  of 


250  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

murder  in  England,  and  then  asked,  after  the  verdict,  what  he 
had  to  say.  His  simple  story  convinced  every  one  who  heard 
it  of  his  innocence.  Had  the  jury  heard  it,  they  would  never 
have  found  him  guilty.  The  judge  went  through  the  ceremony 
of  putting  on  the  black  cap,  and  sentencing  him  to  be  hanged, 
and  then  wrote  to  the  home  secretary  to  get  the  other  farce 
enacted,  of  sending  her  Majesty's  pardon  to  a  man  as  innocent 
as  herself  of  the  crime  of  which  he  had  been  convicted. 

In  the  case  of  Mrs  Fletcher  no  defence  has  been  made. 
She  has  been  condemned  unheard.  I  see  it  stated  that  some 
hundreds  of  pounds  were  expended  for  the  defence.  For 
what?  To  examine  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  of  parchment, 
every  line  of  which  I  am  taxed  to  pay  for ;  for  a  cross-examina- 
tion which  had  no  effect;  for  calling  a  dozen  witnesses  to 
character  whose  testimony  did  not  weigh  a  pin's  head  with 
judge  or  jury  or  the  public. 

Testimony  was  offered  to  prove  the  reality  of  spiritual  mani- 
festations, and  that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  might,  and  prob- 
ably did,  act  in  goo'd  faith.  She  was  charged  with  making 
false  pretences,  "  well  knowing  them  to  be  false."  All  testi- 
mony to  show  that  the  facts  of  Spiritualism  are  genuine  was 
ruled  out  of  court.  It  was  assumed  that  every  medium  is  an 
impostor,  and  every  believer  in  Spiritualism  a  dupe.  The  logic 
of  the  trial,  —  and  the  case  put  to  the  jury,  —  was  this,  Every 
person  professing  to  be  a  Spiritualist  is  either  a  knave  or  a  fool. 
The  accused  are  not  fools,  ergo  they  are  knaves. 

The  efforts  to  injure  the  character  of  Mrs.  Fletcher  in  re- 
spect to  matters  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  seem 
to  me  very  cowardly.  What  had  a  photograph  of  a  lady  in  a 
fashionable. dress  not  more  objectionable  than  every  one  may 
see  at  any  ball  or  dinner  —  such  a  photograph  as  may  be  seen 
in  a  hundred  shop-windows  —  to  do  with  her  guilt  or  inno- 


SOME   COMMENTS   ON   THE   CASE.  251 

cence  ?  How  could  a  photograph  handed  to  the  jury  affect  the 
question  of  obtaining  property  by  false  pretences  ?  So  of  the 
cruel  insinuation  that  Mrs.  Fletcher  had  promoted  a  criminal 
intimacy  between  her  husband  and  the  prosecutrix,  for  which 
there  was  no  foundation,  and  with  which  the  Court  had  noth- 
ing to  do,  but  which  was  charged,  by  the  judge  in  his  sentence, 
against  the  silent  and  helpless  victim,  who  sat  there  bound  and 
gagged,  and  who  could  neither  answer  nor  resist.  With  some 
men  the  days  of  chivalry  are  ended,  or  have  never  begun. 

It  is  said  that  Spiritualism  was  not  on  trial  in  this  case. 
No,  not  on  trial ;  nor  was  Mrs.  Fletcher.  She  and  Spiritualism 
were  alike  condemned  without  a  hearing.  I  see  now  that  it 
would  have  been  infinitely  better,  had  she  defended  herself, 
and  told  her  own  story  to  the  jury.  It  is  a  favorite  saying  of 
the  lawyers,  that  a  man  who  pleads  his  own  case  has  a  fool  for 
his  client.  But  in  this  case  Mrs.  Fletcher  could  not  have  done 
less,  or  done  worse,  and  might  have  done  much  better.  She 
would  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  telling  her  own  story.  As 
it  was,  the  only  words  heard  from  her  lips  were,  "  Not  guilty, 
my  lord."     They  were  said  fervently  and  sincerely. 

As  a  witness  I  have  something  to  complain  of.  I  fear  that 
I  committed  perjury.  I  feel  myself  forsworn.  I  took  a  solemn 
oath  to  tell  "the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the 
truth;"  and  I  was  allowed  only  to  answer  one  question,  which 
was  not  considered  of.  the  least  importance.  I  could  have 
given  testimony  which  I  think  of  some  value  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  communications  from  departed  spirits,  and  how  they 
are  affected  by  the  characters  of  those  to  whom  they  are  given 
and  through  whom  they  are  received ;  but,  after  all  my  solemn 
swearing  as  to  what  I  would  do,  I  was  only  permitted  to  say 
that  I  had  known  Mrs.  Fletcher  for  three  years;  that  I  had 
known  her  American  friends ;  that  I  had  in  my  possession  her 


252  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

letters  of  introduction  from  high  official  persons  in  America  to 
the  Hon.  James  Russell  Lowell,  American  minister,  giving  her 
the  highest  character  for  integrity  and  honor;  and  that  I  had 
formed  the  same  opinion  from  intimate  acquaintance.  But 
my  mouth  was  stopped,  and  I  was  not  allowed  to  give  much 
other  testimony  which  I  think  ought  to  have  been  given. 

For  had  the  jury  believed  that  messages  were,  or  even  could 
have  been,  received  by  the  prosecutrix  from  her  mother, 
through  the  Fletchers,  they  would  have  been  bound  to  acquit 
the  prisoner.  If  such  messages  are  ever  received,  they  may 
have  been  in  this  case.  If  Mrs.  Heurtley  could  communicate 
with  her  daughter,  she  may  have  wished  her  to  live  with  the 
Fletchers,  and  divide  her  property  with  them,  or  leave  it  to 
them  "for  the  propagation  of  Spiritualism  in  its  higher  phases." 
It  is  a  rule  of  law  that  an  accused  person  must  be  considered 
innocent  until  proven  guilty,  and  that,  if  a  juryman  sees  any 
reason  to  doubt,  the  benefit  of  such  doubt  must  be  given  to 
the  accused. 

The  fact  that  the  jury  took  more  than  three  hours  and  a 
half  to  find  a  verdict  shows  that  there  was  much  doubt  and 
hesitation,  probably  energetic  bullying  on  one  side,  and  weak 
surrender  on  the  other.  Few  men  have  the  firmness  to  stand 
by  their  convictions  against  a  majority.  We  have  read  that 
"  wretches  hang,  that  jurymen  may  dine." 

This  trial  and  its  result  carry  us  back  to  worse  times,  when 
witches  were  burned  or  hanged,  and  Quakers  were  imprisoned 
and  whipped.  Tender  Quaker  women  were  whipped  from  town 
to  town,  chained  to  a  cart's-tail,  in  Massachusetts,  stripped  to 
the  waist,  and  the  lash  cutting  into  their  naked  bosoms.  For 
very  light  offences,  or  for  none,  women  have  been  burned  at 
Smithfield,  at  Tyburn,  and  at  Newgate.  We  may  be  thankful 
for  so  much  of  progress  as  that  which  gives  to  Spiritualists 
milder  punishments. 


SOME   COMMENTS   ON   THE   CASE.  253 

That  Mrs.  Fletcher  is  a  martyr  to  Spiritualism  no  Spiritu- 
alist now  doubts.  Had  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  been  members 
of  any  other  religious  body,  there  would  have  been  no  criminal 
prosecution.  The  question  as  to  property  would  have  been 
settled  in  a  court  of  equity.  Questions  often  arise  as  to  undue 
influence,  wills  are  contested  ;  but  we  do  not  hear  of  criminal 
prosecutions  of  either  Catholic  priests  or  Protestant  pastors. 
Mr.  Fletcher,  Mrs.  Fletcher,  and  Mr.  Morton  have  been  con- 
victed because  they  are  Spiritualists. 

T.  L.  NICHOLS,  M.D. 

April  14, 1881. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


IN   THE    PILLORY. 


Before  the  establishment  of  the  free  and  enlightened 
newspaper  with  its  present  enormous  ''world-wide" 
circulation,  convicted  criminals  were  sentenced  to  stand 
a  certain  number  of  hours,  fastened  upon  a  platform,  in 
some  public  place,  to  be  gazed  at,  jeered,  execrated, 
and  pelted  with  mud,  rotten  eggs,  dead  cats,  and  other 
male-odorous  missiles,  by  the  London  mob.  Some  were 
nailed  by  the  ear  to  the  post  in  the  pillory  ;  some, 
especially  libellers,  had  their  ears  cut  off.  In  rare 
cases,  prisoners  exposed  in  the  pillory  were  pelted  to 
death.  The  author  of  "Robinson  Crusoe"  was  put 
in  the  pillory.  The  Rev.  Titus  Oates  was  whipped 
through  the  streets,  and  exposed  in  the  pillory,  many 
times. 

In  more  intelligent  and  humane  times  the  pillory  was 
abolished.  It  was  not  only  a  cruel  and  brutalizing 
spectacle,  like  bull-baiting  or  pigeon-shooting,  but  it 
left  the  punishment  of  criminals  to  the  caprices  or 
prejudices  of  the  public. 
254 


IN  THE   PILLORY.  255 

My  pillory,  as  one  of  my  friends  has  happily  said, 
was  first  the  gratuitous,  superfluous,  and,  as  the  "  Law 
Times  "  holds,  quite  impertinent,  tirade  of  the  judge  who 
sentenced  me,  and,  next  morning,  the  similarly  cruel 
and  very  unusual  abusive  articles  in  the  newspapers  all 
over  England,  —  cruel,  in  that  they  wounded  many 
innocent  persons  (for  I  had  parents,  a  son,  and  many 
friends),  —  cruel  and  unjust,  because  false,  libellous, 
and  in  excess  of  my  legal  punishment.  I  had  been 
condemned  to  twelve  months'  imprisonment  with  hard 
labor.  Sir  Henry  Hawkins  added  some  sentences  of 
very  bitter  abuse  on  his  own  account,  and  set  the  news- 
papers a  very  bad  example,  which  they  were  quick  to 
follow. 

Had  I  been  a  common  thief  or  a  common  swindler, 
all  these  tirades  would  have  been  spared  me.  Na}~, 
taking  the  case  just  as  it  was,  and  considering  the 
restoration  of  the  property,  and  my  coming  to  England 
to  meet  the  charge  against  me,  can  any  one  believe 
that  I  would  have  been  convicted  at  all,  had  I  not 
been  a  Spiritualist?  and,  had  I  been,  would  the  case 
have  been  a  subject  of  newspaper  leaders  all  over  the 
kingdom  ? 

No  doubt  these  articles  are  the  mere  echoes  of  the 
judge's  charge  and  sentence,  and  the  expression  of 
popular  prejudice  and  ignorance.  They  are  not  the 
less  cruel  libels,  and  aggravations  of  the  punishment 


256  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

which  a  prejudiced  verdict  enabled  the  Court  to  inflict. 
I  have  not  space  to  give  them  all :  I  have  not  seen 
them  all.  For  a  whole  year  I  was  not  allowed  to  see 
a  newspaper :  so  they  were  quite  lost  to  me  until  they 
had  been  forgotten  by  every  bod}'  else.  From  the  few 
that  were  saved  for  me,  I  must,  however,  as  a  matter 
of  history,  give  a  few  extracts. 

First  let  me  observe,  that  it  is  quite  safe  to  say  that 
there  are  confirmed  Spiritualists  upon  the  staff  of 
every  important  London  newspaper.  On  several  there 
are  writers  who  have  personal  knowledge  of  my  hus- 
band's mediumship  and  of  my  own.  That  makes  no 
sort  of  difference :  a  newspaper  supplies  what  the 
public  is  supposed  to  demand. 

"The  whole  miserable  story  [says  the  "  Times  "1  is  as  gross 
a  case  of  vulgar  chicane  and  imposture  as  can  readily  be 
imagined.  We  are  not  concerned,  any  more  than  the  judge 
who  tried  the  case,  to  consider  in  reference  to  it  how  many 
persons  believe  in  what  they  are  pleased  to  call  Spiritualism. 
Its  so-called  phenomena  may,  for  all  toe  know  or  care,  be  a 
legitimate  subject  for  scientific  investigation;  but,  when  its 
agency  is  employed  for  the  purposes  of  direct  extortion,  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  regard  it  as  any  thing  else  than  a  very 
clumsy  form  of  imposture,  which  the  law  does  well  to  punish 
whenever  it  gets  the  chance.  .  .  .  The  story  of  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  recalls  in  many  of  its  features  the  memorable  suit  of 
1  Lyon  vs.  Home,'  tried  before  Vice-Chancellor  Giffard  in  1868. 
Take  an  adroit  'medium'  and  a  weak,  foolish,  fanciful  woman 
with  property  in  her  own  control,  and  bring  them  into  com- 


IN   THE   PILLORY.  257 

munication,  and  the  inevitable  result  seems  to  be,  that  a  good 
deal  of  the  property  of  the  woman  gets  transferred  to  the 
medium.  The  medium,  as  Mr.  Home  explained  in  the  case  to 
which  we  have  referred,  is  a  mere  vehicle  of  spirit  communi- 
cation: he  cannot  control  the  utterances  of  the  spirits;  he  can- 
not summon  them  at  will;  he  cannot  even  distinguish  good 
spirits  from  bad,  lying  spirits  from  truthful  ones.  .  .  .  Now, 
all  this  kind  of  thing  may,  as  we  have  said,  be  a  matter  worthy 
of  strict  and  patient  scientific  investigation;  but  to  ordinary 
common  sense,  and  still  more  to  the  eye  of  justice,  dealing 
with  accepted  rules  of  evidence  and  with  incontestable  princi- 
ples of  human  nature,  it  is  nothing  more  than  imposture, 
gross,  palpable,  and  revolting.  If,  moreover,  a  medium  is  an 
impostor,  he  is  a  very  clumsy  impostor.  A  tenth-rate  conjurer 
can  beat  him  on  his  own  ground.  ...  No  medium  has  ever 
yet  revealed  any  thing  that  was  at  once  true,  worth  knowing, 
and  knowable  only  by  means  not  accessible  to  the  rest  of  man- 
kind. Their  levitations,  table-movings,  floatings  in  the  air, 
and  the  like,  are  clumsy  tricks  at  the  best,  easily  wrought  by 
a  conjurer,  and,  even  if  due  to  undetected  natural  agencies, 
they  throw  no  light  whatever  on  the  alleged  communications 
of  spirits;  while  as  to  their  actual  spirit-messages,  they  are  so 
vulgar,  fatuous,  and  puerile,  that,  if  they  could  be  believed  by 
any  rational  being,  they  would  add  a  new  terror  to  death,  and 
furnish,  as  Professor  Huxley  said,  a  new  argument  against 
suicide. 

"The  delusion  of  Spiritualism  is  no  new  one,  but,  happily, 
it  is  now  a  waning  one.  The  Fletchers  are  now  dismissed  to 
join  the  Homes,  the  Slades,  and  other  mediums  whose  vogue 
is  past.  It  is  certainly  a  very  good  thing  that  the  machina- 
tions of  mediums,  magnetic  doctors,  and  the  like,  should  occa- 
sionally come  within   the  reach  of  the  criminal  law.     Not 


258  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

merely  is  their  conviction  a  warning  to  the  public  at  large  to 
have  nothing  to  do  with  people  professing  mysterious  arts, 
who  come  from  no  one  knows  where,  and  live  no  one  knows 
how;  but  the  glimpses  we  get  in  evidence  of  their  daily  life 
and  habits  are  sufficient  to  disgust  all  decent  persons  with  the 
very  name  of  medium,  and  with  every  thing  associated  with 
Spiritualism.  ...  It  would  be  well  if  the  law  were  less  toler- 
ant than  it  is  of  such  offences  against  public  morals  and  public 
decency.  Overt  acts  of  imposture  and  fraud  necessarily  and 
very  properly  come  within  reach  of  the  criminal  law.  But  are 
the  seances  in  which  these  things  begin  really  less  offensive  to 
the  public  welfare  ?  We  punish  and  prohibit  fortune-telling 
and  other  practices  of  the  kind.  But  fortune-telling  is  nowa- 
days a  sorry  and  unprofitable  kind  of  imposture,  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  Spiritualism  as  a  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood  out 
of  the  public  credulity.  Spiritualism  practised  for  gain  is  as 
false  as  fortune-telling,  and  far  more  mischievous.  Why  should 
we  prohibit  the  old  imposture,  and  leave  the  field  open  for  the 
new?" 

Parliament  has  not  yet  seen  its  way  to  pass  an  act 
making  it  a  penal  offence  to  witness  spiritual  manifes- 
tations, nor  to  punish  a  belief  in  the  existence  of  spirits 
by  fines  or  imprisonment ;  and,  as  there  are  Spiritual- 
ists in  both  Houses,  it  might  be  difficult  to  put  such  a 
law  in  operation. 

"In  the  old  days  [says  the  "Daily  Telegraph"]  Mrs. 
Fletcher  might  have  been  burned  alive,  or  drowned  in  the 
nearest  horse-pond,  for  her  necromantic  proclivities.  Even  so 
recently  as  forty  years  ago,  a  person  convicted  of  '  pretending 
to  exercise  or  use  any  kind  of  witchcraft,  sorcery,  enchant- 


IN   THE   PILLORY.  259 

ment,  or  conjuration,'  would  have  been  locked  up  for  one 
year,  and  besides  would  have  had  to  stand  once  every  quarter 
in  the  pillory,  '  in  the  market-town  of  the  county,  on  the  day 
when  the  market  is  held.'  Mrs.  Fletcher  will  not  have  to 
endure  the  penalties  of  this  particular  offence,  but  she  will 
reap  a  richly  deserved  reward  for  her  nefarious  actions  in  the 
sentence  which  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  has  pronounced." 

After  a  resume  of  the  case,  evidently  based  upon 
the  summing-up  of  the  judge,  the  "Telegraph"  con- 
cludes :  — 

"  This  case  shows  pretty  plainly  the  danger  of  dealing  with 
professional  Spiritualists.  Mr.  Fletcher  seems  to  have  been 
gifted  with  all  those  peculiar  powers  which  make  a  person 
what  is  called  a  good  'medium.'  His  'trances,'  however, 
were  gross,  and  ought  to  have  seemed,  to  any  one  of  the  least 
perception,  palpable  shams.  There  are  too  many  of  these  in- 
famous impostors  about,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  trial 
will  open  the  eyes  of  their  dupes.  tTnfortunately  the  female 
conspirator  alone  has  been  punished;  while  the  worst  offender, 
Fletcher  himself,  remains  at  large.  Probably  he  and  Mr.  Mor- 
ton are  enjoying  themselves  somewhere  in  America,  but  at 
present  the  fact  remains  that  justice  has  only  been  half  satis- 
fied by  the  verdict  which  the  jury  yesterday  pronounced  " 

"'Spiritualism,'  as  it  is  termed  [the  "Standard"  says],  is 
a  matter  with  regard  to  which  various  shades  of  opinion  are 
known  to  exist.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  as  to  the 
justice  of  the  verdict  delivered  last  evening  at  the  Old  Bailey." 

Giving  its  version  of  the  details  of  the  case,  the 
u  Standard  "  goes  on  to  say,  — 


260  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PKISON. 

"There  is,  no  doubt,  a  good  deal  in  the  case  which  has  not 
been  brought  out.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  is  clearly  a  very  silly 
woman,  capable  of  almost  any  folly;  but  there  is  no  need  for 
us  to  consider  either  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  Spiritualism,  or 
to  take  into  account  the  precise  degree  of  folly  of  which  the 
prosecutrix  was  capable.  After  the  whole  pitiful  story  had 
been  sifted  out,  the  issues  left  to  the  jury  were  very  considera- 
bly narrowed  down.  Had  Mrs.  Fletcher  obtained  valuable 
property  from  the  prosecutrix  ?  As  to  this  there  was  no  possi- 
ble doubt.  Had  she  done  so  by  representing  to  the  prosecutrix 
that  such  gift  or  disposition  was  at  the  instance,  and,  indeed, 
at  the  express  wish,  of  the  late  Mrs.  Heurtley  ?  As  to  this, 
again,  there  was  literally  no  question.  It  only  remained, 
then,  to  ask  whether  Mrs.  Fletcher  herself  believed  in  the 
truth  of  these  messages  from  spirit-land;  for,  if  she  did  not 
believe  in  them,  she  was  clearly  guilty  of  a  fraudulent  pre- 
tence. Such  was  the  issue  which  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  left  to 
the  jury,  and  upon  it  the  jurors  have  convicted  Mrs.  Fletcher. 

"  With  the  more  enthusiastic  adherents  of  Spiritualism  it 
is  idle  to  attempt  to  argue.  No  exposure  is  sufficient  to  shake 
their  faith.  But  there  are  certain  broad  facts  in  the  present 
case  which  those  who  are  not  too  deeply  pledged  to  the  follies, 
and,  we  may  add,  to  the  something  worse  than  folly,  of  this 
new  philosophy,  will  do  well  to  consider.  In  the  first  place,  it 
is  clear  that  professional  mediums  are,  as  a  rule,  persons  of 
somewhat  questionable  antecedents.  There  is  always  an  at- 
mosphere of  doubt  about  them.  Spiritualism,  in  short,  is  dis- 
reputable; and  its  surroundings  are  disreputable,  or  even  worse. 
No  man  who  respects  himself  would  allow  his  wife  or  his 
daughters  to  attend  professional  seances,  or  to  habitually  asso- 
ciate with  professional  mediums.  Beneath  all  the  rubbish 
that  is  talked  about  '  spheres  of  spiritual  existence '  and  '  odic 


IN   THE    PILLORY.  261 

power/  there  lies  an  ugly  under-current,  tho  nature  of  which 
any  man  of  the  world  can  at  once  determine  for  himself.  Nor 
is  it  a  fact  without  significance,  that  whenever  a  professional 
Spiritualist  appears  in  court,  it  is  to  answer  some  such  charge 
of  fraud  as  the  present/' 

The  provincial  press  no  doubt  followed  its  leaders. 
I  have  seen  but  one  example  from  a  remarkably  good 
newspaper,  the  "  Leicester  Free  Press,"  which  says,  — 

"The  rogues  and  impostors  who  practise  certain  arts  and 
tricks  included  under  the  heading  of  'Modern  Spiritualism' 
have  received  another  warning.  The  news  that  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
a  'Spiritualist,'  has  heen  sentenced  to  twelve  months'  im- 
prisonment with  hard  lahor,  for  obtaining  property  by  fraud 
and  false  pretences,  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  act  not  only  as  a 
deterrent  to  unscrupulous  knaves,  but  as  a  caution  to  all 
credulous  fools." 

I  have  not  given  the  most  abusive  passages  of  these 
articles.  AYhen  a  woman  is  once  locked  up  in  prison, 
it  is  quite  safe,  and  I  presume  it  is  considered  manly 
and  honorable,  to  libel  her,  and  "say  all  manner  of 
evil  against  her,  falsely."  Whether  it  is  considered 
manly  and  honorable,  and  worth}'  of  the  character  of 
English  gentlemen,  to  strike,  or  kick,  or  cover  with 
torrents  of  abuse  and  lies,  an  utterly  unprotected, 
imprisoned  woman,  I  have  no  means  of  knowing.  I 
think,  however,  that  it  is  not  usual,  even  in  the  ca^e 
of  criminals  who  are  unquestionably  guilty.  Had  I 
been  simply  a  thief,  a  robber,  a  murderess,  the  prison 


262  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

or  the  gallows  would  have  been  thought  punishment 
enough.  Why,  then,  did  the  English  press  depart  from 
its  usual  custom?  I  believe  there  is  but  one  answer. 
It  was  because  I  was  a  Spiritualist.  Had  we  all  of 
us  been  members  of  any  religious  denomination,  — 
Irvingites,  Plymouth  Brethren,  or  members  of  the 
Salvation  Army,  —  the  property  question  would  have 
been  settled  in  a  civil  court,  and  I  should  neither 
have  been  sentenced  to  Tothill  Fields  Prison,  nor 
libelled  in  leading  articles. 

The  best  answer  I  can  give  to  this  ignorant  and  con- 
temptuous, and,  as  it  seems  to  me,  contemptible,  abuse 
of  Spiritualists,  is  to  call  a  moment's  attention  to  the 
names  and  positions  of  a  few  of  those  who  have  given 
the  matter  a  careful  investigation,  and  avowed  their 
belief  in  what  are  called  "  spiritual  manifestations." 

Americans  are  not  considered  less  clever  or  less  intel- 
ligent than  Englishmen  ;  and  in  America,  Spiritualists 
are  counted  by  millions,  including  presidents,  govern- 
ors of  States,  professors  of  universities,  clergymen, 
physicians,  judges,  lawyers,  and  men  of  every  class 
and  profession. 

Among  the  more  distinguished  persons,  living  or 
dead,  who  have  become  satisfied  with  the  reality  of 
more  or  less  of  the  phenomena  called  "psychic"  or 
"spiritual,"  are  the  Earl  of  Crawford  and  Balcarres, 
F.R.S.,  president  R.A.S  ;  "W.  Crookes,  fellow  and  gold 


IN   THE   PILLORY.  263 

medallist  of  the  Royal  Society;  C.  Varley,  F.R.S., 
C.E.  ;  A.  R.  Wallace,  the  eminent  naturalist ;  W.  F. 
Barrett,  F.R.S.E.,  professor  of  physics  in  the  Royal 
College  of  Science,  Dublin  ;  Dr.  Lockhart  Robertson  ; 
Dr.  J.  Elliotson,  F.R,S.,  sometime  president  of  the 
Royal  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Society  of  London  ;  Pro- 
fessor de  Morgan,  sometime  president  of  the  Mathe- 
matical Society  of  London ;  Dr.  William  Gregory, 
F.R.S.E.,  sometime  professor  of  chemistry  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh ;  Dr.  Ashburner,  Mr.  Rutter, 
Dr.  Herbert  Mayo,  F.R.S.  ;  Professor  F.  Zoilrier  of 
Leipzig,  author  of  "Transcendental  Physics,"  etc.; 
Professors  G.  T.  Fechner,  Scheibner,  and  J.  H.  Fichte, 
of  Leipzig ;  Professor  W.  E.  Weber  of  Gottingeu ; 
Professor  Hoffman  of  Wiirzburg ;  Professor  Perty  of 
Berne  ;  Professors  Wagner  and  Butleroff  of  Petersburg  ; 
Professors  Hare  and  Mapes  of  U.S.A.  ;  Dr.  Robert 
Friese  of  Breslau  ;  Mons.  Camiile  Flammarion,  astron- 
omer ;  the  late  aud  present  Earls  of  Dunraven ;  T.  A. 
Trollope ;  S.  C.  Hall ;  Gerald  Massey ;  Capt.  R.  Bur- 
ton ;  Professor  Cassal,  LL.D.  ;  Lord  Brougham ;  Lord 
Lytton  ;  Lord  Lyndhurst ;  Archbishop  Whately  ;  Dr. 
Robert  Chambers,  F.R.S. E.  ;  W.  M.  Thackeray  ;  Nas- 
sau Senior  ;  George  Thompson  ;  W.  Howitt ;  Sergeant 
Cox ;  Mrs.  Browning ;  Bishop  Clarke,  Rhode  Island, 
U.S.A.  ;  Darius  Lyman,  U.S.A.  ;  Professor  W.  Den- 
ton ;  Professor  Alexander  Wilder ;   Professor  Hiram 


264  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Corson  ;  Professor  George  Bush  ;  twenty-four  judges 
and  ex- judges  of  the  United  States  courts  ;  Victor 
Hugo  ;  Baron  and  Baroness  von  Vay  ;  W.  Lloyd  Gar- 
rison, U.S.A.  ;  Hon.  R.  Dale  Owen,  U.S.A.  ;  Hon. 
J.  W.  Edmonds,  U.S.A.;  Epes  Sargent;  Baron  du 
Potet;  Count  A.  de  Gasparin  ;  Baron  L.  cle  Gulden- 
stiibbe ;  H.  I.  H.  Nicholas,  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg ; 
H.  S.  H.  the  Prince  of  Solms  :  H.  S.  H.  Prince  Emile 
of  Sayn  Wittgenstein;  Hon.  Alexander  Aksakof,  im- 
perial councillor  of  Russia  ;  the  Hon.  J.  L.  O' Sullivan, 
sometime  minister  of  U.S.A.  at  the  court  of  Lisbon  ; 
M.  Favre  Clavairoz,  late  consul-general  of  France  at 
Trieste ;  the  late  Emperors  of  Russia  and  France ; 
Presidents  Thiers  and  Lincoln,  etc. 

This  list  might  be  greatly  extended.  Some  of  these 
men  are  among  the  brightest  lights  of  science,  who 
have  given  much  time  to  these  investigations  ;  yet  the 
writers  of  newspaper  leaders  have  no  hesitation  in  set- 
ting them  all  down  as  knaves  or  fools,  charlatans  or 
dupes. 

Two  centuries  ago  Spiritualism,  in  the  sense  of  a 
belief  in  the  supernatural,  was  all  but  universal.  The 
present  fashion  is  materialism.  A  century  ago  people 
were  hanged  for  witchcraft :  now  any  person  pretend- 
ing to  be  a  witch  or  sorcerer  may  be  sent  to  prison 
as  a  rogue  and  vagabond.  When  Mr.  Slade  was  con- 
victed in  England,  and  escaped  prison  by  an   infor- 


IN   THE   PILLORY.  265 

mality,  he  went  to  Germany,  where  his  manifestations 
were  thoroughly  examined  by  the  late  Professor  Zoll- 
ner  of  the  University  of  Leipzig,  who  published  the 
result,  with  photographic  illustrations,  in  his  "Tran- 
scendental Physics. ' '  He  afterwards,  with  his  brother- 
professors,  made  a  similar  series  of  investigations  of 
the  phenomena  produced  in  the  presence  of  my  friend, 
Mr.  W.  Eglinton. 

I  give  these  facts,  partly  to  show  that  the  ignorance 
of  some  leader-writers  for  English  newspapers  is  nearly 
as  great  as  their  —  I  leave  the  reader  to  supply  the 
proper  expression.  I  can  think  of  no  word  but  bru- 
tality, and  my  love  for  the  poor  brutes  hinders  me 
from  instituting  a  comparison.  They  seem,  in  my 
case,  to  have  been  given  over  to  "hardness  of  heart, 
and  blindness  of  mind." 

A  London  correspondent  of  the  "  Banner  of  Light" 
says  of  this  curious  outburst  of  intolerance,  — 

"The  man  who  strikes  at  this  helpless  woman  in  prison 
commits  an  outrage  against  every  Spiritualist.  Her  cause  is 
our  cause.  Every  medium,  and  every  aider  and  abettor  of  a 
medium,  can  be  imprisoned  by  English  law,  as  well  as  Mrs. 
Fletcher.  It  seems  to  me  mean  and  cowardly  in  the  last  and 
lowest  degree  to  attack  a  woman  in  prison  in  any  case,  though 
almost  the  entire  English  press  did  so  the  day  after  Mrs. 
Fletcher  was  sentenced.  But  it  is  not  their  custom.  They 
would  not  have  done  to  a  murderer  what  they  did  to  a  Spiritu- 
alist. 


2G6  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

"The  fact  of  Mrs.  Fletcher  being  a  Spiritualist  was  the  only- 
proof  of  her  guilt;  and  that,  in  English  law,  is  sufficient.  It 
made  Slade  a  rogue  and  a  vagabond:  it  convicted  Mrs.  Fletcher 
of  false  pretences.  The  only  false  pretence  alleged  was  that 
Mrs.  Fletcher  pretended  to  receive  messages  from  the  spirit  of 
Mrs.  Heurtley.  Not  a  shadow  of  proof  was  offered  that  she 
did  not  receive  such  messages.  It  was  assumed  by  judge  and 
jury  that  she  could  not  have  received  them.  The  verdict  was 
based  solely  upon  this  assumption.  It  was  preconceived  opin- 
ion, and  the  assumption  of  English  law,  upon  which  Mrs. 
Fletcher  was  made  a  martyr  for  Spiritualism.  It  has  been  the 
same  in  every  religious  persecution.  When  Roman  Christians 
wece  brought  before  Nero,  there  was  no  proof  of  guilt.  It 
was  not  shown  that  Christianity  was  a  pestilent  imposture: 
that  was  assumed.  '  My  religion,  the  religion  of  the  state,  is 
true:  your  religion  contradicts  that;  ergo,  it  is  false.  Take 
these  Christians  to  the  Flavian  amphitheatre,  and  throw  them 
to  the  lions.  It  will  amuse  the  populace.'  Spanish  inquis- 
itors, Calvin  at  Geneva,  Henry  VIII.,  who  with  perfect 
impartiality  burned  Catholics  who  denied  his  supremacy,  and 
Protestants  who  denied  the  Real  Presence,  had  the  same  con- 
venient method  of  procedure.  In  the  same  fashion,  Eliza- 
beth filled  the  prisons  of  England  with  nonconformists,  and 
Charles  II.  and  James  II.  imprisoned  Quakers  and  other  dis- 
senters; and  women  were  whipped  from  town  to  town,  tied  to 
the  cart' s-t ail,  in  old  Massachusetts;  while  the  parsons  of  the 
period,  like  some  Spiritualist  editors  now,  stood  by,  and  en- 
couraged the  executioners  to  lay  on  harder,  and  make  their 
lashes  cut  deeper  into  the  naked  flesh  of  their  victims." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


THE    OTHER    SIDE. 


All  this  time  the  other  side  of  the  story  had  not 
been  heard.  The  ancient  maxim,  "audi  alteram  par- 
tem," had  not  been  so  much  as  whispered.  Evidently 
it  did  not  occur  to  the  writers  for  the  press  that  there 
was  any  other  side  than  the  one  which  had  been  pre- 
sented to  the  jury.  In  my  case,  which  was  a  type  of 
many  more,  there  was  a  clamorous  multitude  and  a 
silent  prisoner. 

I  think,  before  giving  an  account  of  my  twelve 
months  in  prison,  I  should  give  in  this  place  some  of 
the  testimony  that  should  have  been  given  at  the  trial, 
not  only  in  justice  to  myself,  but  for  the  sake  of  the 
honest  people  all  over  the  world  who  were  made  to 
detest  me  by  my  conviction.  It  was  a  wrong  to  me, 
but  the  wrong  to  the  millions  who  were  deceived  by 
such  a  "  trial  "  was  far  greater. 

I  have  given  in  the  preceding  chapter  a  list  of  men, 
who,  after  a  thorough  examination,  have  testified  to 
the  objective  reality  of  the  facts  which  constitute  what 

267 


268  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

is  called  "  Spiritualism."  All  these  men  and  women, 
and  a  multitude  of  others,  as  intelligent  and  as  honest 
as  there  are  in  the  world,  would  have  testified  to  the 
fact  of  communications  with  departed  spirits. 

No  doubt  eminent  men  could  have  been  called  who 
would  have  said  they  did  not  believe  these  facts. 
Such  negative  testimony  is,  of  course,  worthless.  "We 
do  not  want  the  testimony  of  those  who  shut  their 
eyes,  and  then  tell  us  they  cannot  see.  Those  who 
have  seen  and  heard  and  felt  are  the  proper  witnesses. 

If  permitted  to  do  so,  I  could  have  abundantly 
proved  that  there  are  spirits  who  can  make  themselves 
heard,  seen,  and  felt,  so  as  to  be  recognized,  as  far  as 
identity  can  be  proven.  These  spirits  are  not  necessa- 
rily wise  or  good,  any  more  than  those  of  living  men 
and  women.  A  foolish  man  or  a  silly  woman  does  not 
become  wise  at  once  by  getting  out  of  an  earthly  em- 
bodiment. Having  proved  the  facts  of  spirit-existence 
and  of  spirit-communication,  why  should  not  the  de- 
parted Mrs.  Heurtley,  with  her  mysterious  relations, 
communicate  with  her  peculiar  daughter?  —  why  not 
wish  her  to  be  under  her  own  care  and  guidance,  by 
being  with  those  through  whom  she  might  give  her 
messages  of  such  wisdom  as  she  had  learned? 

There  are  American  judges,  like  the  late  Judge 
Edmunds  of  the  New-York  Court  of  Appeals,  who  are 
intelligent  and  devoted  Spiritualists.     Had  it  been  my 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  269 

fortune  to  be  tried  before  such  a  judge,  any  reader 
can  see  that  it  might  have  made  a  difference. 

Next  to  the  witnesses  that  should  have  been  called 
to  prove  the  facts  of  Spiritualism,  the  most  important 
witness  was  Mr.  Morton,  who  was  excluded  from  the 
witness-box  by  being  included  in  the  indictment.  There 
is  no  doubt  of  Mr.  Morton's  legal  position  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Massachusetts  bar,  and  also  as  a  member 
of  the  bar  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  his  high  and  honorable  position,  professional  and 
social,  is  thoroughly  and  strongly  indorsed  by  gentle- 
men of  high  standing  at  the  bar,  as  well  as  by  those 
holding  prominent  positions  in  the  affairs  of  state,  and 
by  letters  from  an  eminent  Boston  lawyer  to  Mr.  Fran- 
cis, the  London  solicitor  to  whom  he  introduced  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies. 

We  had  known  Mr.  Morton  in  Boston  as  a  Spiritu- 
alist. When  he  came  to  London,  he  called  to  see  us  ; 
and  subsequently,  having  more  rooms  than  we  required, 
we  were  able  to  offer  him  one.  He  was  never  our 
lawyer,  or  secretary,  or  any  thing  but  an  old  acquaint- 
ance and  respected  friend. 

Mr.  Morton,  writing  from  Boston  on  March  10,  1881, 
after  the  examination  at  Bow  Street,  and  before  the 
Old  Bailey  trial,  said,  — 

"I  believe  it  was  not  until  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  came  under 
the  personal  influence  of  James  McGeary  (otherwise  called  Dr. 


270  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Mack)  that  she  ever  dreamed  of  assailing  the  Fletchers;  nor 
does  her  position  at  the  beginning  indicate  that  she  intended 
to  bring  suit.  But,  once  under  the  sway  of  a  man  who  has 
been  an  openly  avowed  enemy  of  the  Fletchers,  it  was  impos- 
sible for  her  to  stop.  And  thus  she  wandered  on  in  her  evi- 
dence, without  fear  of  contradiction,  assailing  everybody  else 
in  order  to  protect  herself;  and  her  attack  upon  me  is  only 
another  of  the  inexplicable  turns  of  this  extraordinary  case. 
The  giving  a  home  to  Madam  Hart-Davies  may  have  been  an 
error  of  judgment;  and,  if  so,  let  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  be 
held  responsible  for  it  as  an  error,  and  not  as  a  crime." 

In  his  testimony  in  regard  to  his  acquaintance  \rith 
us,   and  his   connection  with  this   case,   Mr.   Morton 

says, — 

"I  had  known  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  publicly  and  privately 
for  many  years  in  America,  where  they  occupied  prominent 
positions  as  mediums  and  lecturers  of  acknowledged  ability. 

"I  was  consulted  by  Madam  Hart-Davies.  as  to  the  proper 
way  to  dispose  of  certain  property  so  as  to  protect  it  from  her 
husband,  and  which  she  desired  to  give  and  intrust  to  the 
Fletchers.  I  gave  the  desired  legal  advice,  asking  at  the  same 
time  under  what  influence  she  had  been  led  to  bestow  these 
things  upon  them.  Her  reply  was,  that  no  persons,  spirits  or 
mortals,  had  influenced  her  in  any  manner.  Under  her  instruc- 
tions a  deed  of  gift  was  made  and  taken  home,  and  copied  by 
her.  This  done,  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  apprised  of  the  fact,  and 
the  paper  read  to  her.  Subsequently  Madam  Hart-Davies 
made  a  will  in  her  own  handwriting,  in  order,  as  she  said,  that 
there  should  be  'no  question  as  to  her  intentions,'  and  'to 
prevent  the  possibility  of  future  litigation.'    The  existence  and 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  271 

contents  of  this  will  were  not  mentioned  by  me  until  the  follow- 
ing year,  September,  1S80,  after  the  suits  brought  in  America, 
when  I  stated  the  fact  to  the  Fletchers.  Madam  Hart-Davies 
went  to  France  near  the  end  of  1879,  and  returned  to  England 
in  the  spring,  when  she  resided  with,  the  Fletchers,  and  in  the 
summer  came  with  them  to  America;  and  under  the  influence 
of  others,  whose  enmity  to  the  Fletchers  has  been  acknowl- 
edged, she  instituted  legal  proceedings  against  them,  which 
were  discontinued,  and  the  Fletchers  honorably  discharged. 
A  cross-suit  had  been  instituted  against  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  and 
James  McGeary,  which  was  postponed  for  a  settlement,  when 
both  defendants  fled  the  country,  and  swore  out  a  warrant 
against  the  Fletchers  in  England.  On  learning  this,  Mrs. 
Fletcher  left  for  England,  and,  as  she  expected,  was  arrested 
on  the  steamer  on  which  she  took  passage  to  Greenock,  and 
subsequently  tried  upon  an  indictment  in  which  I  was  in- 
cluded, apparently  for  no  other  reason  than  to  deprive  her  of 
my  testimony  as  a  witness. 

"I  state  from  my  absolute  knowledge,  that  the  evidence 
given  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  the  sole  witness  on  whom  the 
whole  case  rested,  was  a  tissue  of  false  statements.  Had  her 
evidence  been  investigated,  and  her  true  character  known, 
her  words  would  not  have  had  the  slightest  weight  with  judge 
or  jury. 

"The  clever  device,  or  drag-net  indictment,  which  closed 
my  mouth,  though  I  was  in  England  at  the  time,  only  shows 
the  weakness  of  her  position.  The  ignoring  of  the  testimony 
as  to  character,  of  the  fact  of  Mrs.  Fletchers  coming  across  the 
ocean  to  meet  her  trial,  and  the  ruling-out  of  all  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  Spiritualism,  show  that  the  Court  was  prejudiced 
against  the  prisoner.  Could  I  have  spoken  at  the  time,  I  coidd 
have  convinced  any  fair-minded  man  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 


272  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

was  inspired  by  an  insane  jealousy  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other  influenced  by  enemies  of  the  Fletchers. 

"  I  am  ready  at  all  times  to  testify  that  Madam  Hart-Davies 
sought  the  assistance  and  protection  of  the  Fletchers ;  that  she 
forced  her  gifts  upon  them  on  the  pretext  that  she  was  friend- 
less, but  with  an  ulterior  purpose;  that,  when  defeated  in  this, 
she  sought  to  be  revenged." 

I  give  this  letter  of  Mr.  Morton,  which  he  has  sol- 
emnly confirmed  in  the  following  sworn  and  legally 
certified  affidavits,  containing  some  of  the  testimony 
which  should  have  been  given  in 'court,  but  which  the 
government,  the  "  crown  "  of  a  clement  and  merci- 
ful queen,  was  made,  by  her  officers  acting  in  her 
name,  —  "  Regina  versus  Fletchers  and  Morton"  —  to 
unjustly  and  tyrannously  exclude. 

In  the  matter  of  Mrs.  Juliet  Anne  Theodora  Hart-Davies 
versus  Mr.  J.  W.  Fletcher  and  Mrs.  Susan  Willis 
Fletcher,  now  pending  in  Bow  Street  Police-Court,  Lon- 
don, Eng. 

I,  Francis  T.  Morton  of  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A.,  hereby  de- 
pose and  say,  That  the  statement  made  by  Mr.  S.  B.  Abrahams 
on  the  3d  of  December,  A.D.  1880,  at  Bow  Street  Police-Court, 
to  wit,  That  I  influenced  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  in  the  making  of 
a  certain  will  dated  Oct.  23,  1ST9,  either  by  word,  action,  or  in 
any  other  manner  whatsoever,  is  absolutely  untrue  in  each  and 
every  particular. 

That  the  statement  that  I  have  ever  at  any  time  been  or 
acted  as  "private  secretary  to  J.  W.  Fletcher"  is  devoid  of 
truth. 


THE    OTHER    SIDE.  273 

That  the  statement,  that  in  coming  over  to  America  Mr. 
Fletcher,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  a  lady  went  one  way,  and 
Mrs.  Fletcher  and  Mr.  Morton  another  way,  is  equally  untrue. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  not  a  pas- 
senger on  the  steamer  which  brought  me  to  America  in  Sep- 
tember, 1880,  and  that  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  not  in  England  when 
I  left  there,  but  was  in  America. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  I  have  good  reason  to  believe 
that  Mr.  S.  B.  Abrahams  and  his  client,  in  making  the  above 
statements,  and  in  saying  that  I  was  in  the  abode  of  free- 
lovers,  and  that  I  was  a  disciple  of  free-love,  did  so  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  maliciously  assailing  my  character  and  good 
name  and  that  of  others,  both  in  open  court  and  through  the 
press,  and  that  of  my  family  and  friends,  not  only  here,  but  in 
England  as  well.  And  I  regard  it  as  a  duty  that  some  correct- 
ing statement  should  be  made,  not  only  on  my  own  account, 
but  that  these  public  slanderers  be  prevented  from  doing 
further  injury  in  future,  and  this  high-handed  injustice  be 
hunted  down. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  upon  my  return  to  London 
from  the  seashore,  in  the  month  of  August,  A.D.  1879,  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  requested  and  obtained  an  interview  with  me  in 
my  study,  at  No.  22  Gordon  Street,  Gordon  Square,  where  I 
was  then  living;  and  after  alluding  to  the  relations  existing 
between  herself  and  husband,  of  his  and  her  solicitors,  of  her 
trustees,  and  of  her  aunt,  from  whom  she  derived  her  only 
income  of  three  hundred  pounds  per  annum,  she  said  sub- 
stantially these  words,  "I  have  not  one  friend  in  this  world 
whom  I  can  trust,  and  to  whom  I  can  go  for  advice  and  assist- 
ance. Will  you  give  me  counsel  and  advice?"  I  answered 
that  I  was  not  conversant  with  English  practice,  and  could  not 
in  any  way  be  mixed  up  in  her  affairs,  and  thereupon  advised 


274  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

her  to  go  to  some  responsible  firm  of  solicitors,  who  would  see 
that  she  was  protected  in  her  rights  if  they  had  been  in  any 
manner  infringed  upon.  She  replied,  that  she  knew  of  no  soli- 
citors, and  had  no  friends  who  could  or  would  give  her  such 
introduction,  and  again  asked  for  my  assistance  and  advice, 
and  thereupon  declared  her  purpose  to  make  a  conveyance  of 
certain  property,  and  stated  in  most  unmistakable  language 
the  subject-matter  contained  in  a  certain  deed  of  gift  dated 
Aug.  25,  1879,  and  which  after  signing,  she  requested  me  to 
sign  my  name  as  a  witness  thereto,  and  which  I  accordingly 
did.  The  schedule  of  certain  property  therein  referred  to  was 
never  given  nor  annexed  to  the  said  deed  of  gift,  although  so 
intended  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  on  Aug.  2G,  1879.  Before  sub- 
scribing my  name  as  a  witness  to  this  deed  of  gift,  I  asked 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  why  she  had  made  this  conveyance  to  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  and  if  she  had  given  the  matter  careful  considera- 
tion, and  whether  she  had  been  influenced  by  any  one  in 
making  this  conveyance.  To  which  she  replied,  that  no  per- 
sons, either  spirits  or  mortals,  had  at  any  time,  or  in  any  man- 
ner whatever,  influenced  her  in  making  this  conveyance.  That 
Mrs.  Fletcher  was  the  best  and  truest  friend  she  had  in  the 
world ;  that  she  had  by  her  kindness  saved  her  life  when  she 
was  friendless,  and  knew  not  which  way  to  turn ;  that  she  had 
no  relatives  other  than  a  brother,  who  was  living  in  South 
America,  and  could  take  care  of  himself;  and  that  she  wished 
to  leave  this  property  to  Mrs.  Fletcher,  and  was  determined 
the  property  should  go  to  no  one  else.  I  said  I  doubted  very 
much  if  Mrs.  Fletcher  would  allow  her  to  do  so.  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  replied,  that  she  did  not  expect  to  live  a  great  while 
longer,  and  that  there  was  no  one  else  to  whom  she  wished  to 
leave  her  property.  The  statement  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  or 
that  of  her  counsel,  that  I  at  any  time,  or  in  any  manner  what- 


THE   OTHER    SIDE.  275 

soever,  influenced  her,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  make  the 
said  conveyance  above  referred  to,  is  a  base  and  malicious 
falsehood,  and  as  outrageous  and  villanous  ae  it  is  false. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  in  the  following  month  of 
October  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  came  to  me  and  declared  her  pur- 
pose of  making  a  will,  and  not  only  asked,  but  beyyed,  my 
assistance  in  so  doing.  I  replied,  that,  while  I  would  cheerfully 
assist  as  far  as  I  could,  I  was  not  familiar  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  English  practice  in  such  matters;  that  in  a  mat- 
ter of  this  nature  she  ought  to  go  to  a  good  solicitor,  who 
"Wrould  see  that  whatever  she  did  would  be  rightly  and  properly 
done,  and  suggested  that  the  trustees  would  probably  know  of 
some  reliable  solicitors.  She  said,  "  No,  I  don't  wish  to  ask  my 
trustees  for  any  thing;"  and  then  asked  me  if  I  would  take 
the  responsibility  of  introducing  her  to  some  solicitors  whom 
I  might  know;  that  she  would  be  under  lasting  obligations. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  I  did  subsequently  introduce 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  one  of  the  most  respectable  firms  of  soli- 
citors I  knew  of  in  London  (and  this  upon  her  urgent  solici- 
tation, and  from  no  desire  of  my  own),  to  whom  she  stated 
her  case  in  terms  and  language  that  admitted  of  no  doubt 
as  to  her  motives,  intentions,  and  purposes;  that  she  subse- 
quently gave  or  sent  to  the  said  solicitors  a  "will,"  written 
in  her  own  handwriting,  in  order  (as  she  said)  that  there  might 
be  no  question  as  to  her  intentions,  and  to  prevent  the  possi- 
bility of  future  litigation,  the  original  draught  of  which,  I 
presume  and  trust,  is  still  in  existence.  The  solicitors  in  ques- 
tion declined  at  first  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  her  matters, 
in  view  of  her  having  previously  employed  other  solicitors, 
and  the  uncertain  condition  of  her  affairs,  but  subsequently 
were  kind  enough  to  act  as  her  solicitors.  The  introduction 
was  made  by  me  in  good  faith;  which  good  faith,  on  her  part, 


276  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PEISON. 

has  been  most  shamefully  violated.  It  was  made  at  great  per- 
sonal inconvenience,  and  with  intent  to  wrong  no  one,  hut  to 
help  this  woman,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  who  came  to  me  repre- 
senting that  she  was  persecuted  and  wronged.  And  the  state- 
ment made  by  her  or  her  counsel,  that  I  either  influenced 
her  in  the  making  of  any  will,  or  conspired  with  any  person 
or  persons  whatsoever  in  so  doing,  is  a  most  infamous  false- 
hood, and  without  a  semblance  or  shadow  of  truth,  calculated 
to  deceive  the  Court,  and  poison  the  mind  of  the  public  before 
a  reply  thereto  could  be  made,  and  its  falsity  be  proved. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  I  have  always  regarded  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies's  interviews  as  a  professional  matter,  and  until 
September,  1880  (after  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  brought  her  suit 
in  this  country  [America]),  have  never  spoken  of  the  will  to 
any  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  in  England  or  elsewhere 
(other  than  to  her  solicitors),  either  directly  or  indirectly. 
And  furthermore,  to  be  more  explicit,  I  never  had  a  word  of 
conversation  with  J.  W.  Fletcher,  or  Susie  Willis  Fletcher, 
about  the  subject-matter  of  this  or  any  other  will,  until  Sep- 
tember, 1880.  Nor  did  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  ever  consult 
with  me  as  to  the  making  of  the  said  will,  or  of  any  codicil, 
or  of  any  solicitors  in  connection  therewith,  in  behalf  of  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies,  or  any  other  person  or  persons.  And,  further- 
more, Mrs.  Hart-Davies  stated  to  me  in  the  most  positive 
terms,  that  she  had  not  been  influenced  by  any  one,  either 
spirits  or  mortals,  in  the  making  of,  or  in  her  purpose  of 
making,  the  said  will,  or  in  the  making  of  any  will  whatso- 
ever. And  the  statement  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  or  her  solicit- 
ors, that  J.  W.  Fletcher  or  Susie  Willis  Fletcher  conspired 
with  me,  or  I  with  them,  to  influence  in  any  manner  what- 
soever, or  to  induce  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  make  this  or  any 
other  will,  is  a  most  contemptible  and  outrageous  falsehood,  — 


THE   OTHER    SIDE.  277 

a  statement  which  she  failed  to  make,  and  dared  not  make,  in 
the  suit  she  brought  in  this  country  in  August,  A.D.  18S0 
(and  quite  similar  to  that  now  pending  in  London^  and  in 
which  she  was  non-suited,  having  fled  the  country  hefore  it 
was  tried,  and  without  the  knowledge  of  her  counsel,  as  the 
records  of  the  court  will  show. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  between  the  first  and  twelfth 
day  of  June,  A  D.  1SS0,  and  on  two  different  occasions,  Mrs. 
Ilart-Davies,  after  stating  that  she  was  ahout  to  visit  America, 
asked  me  to  draw  up  a  paper  which  she  might  take  with  her 
to  America,  the  hetter  to  protect  herself  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  in 
the  property  she  intended  to  take  over  with  her.  I  told  her 
she  should  consult  her  solicitor  in  London,  or  her  lawyer  in 
New  York  on  her  arrival  there,  and  did  not  draw  up  the  paper 
as  requested. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  from  the  first  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  came  to  me,  not  only  of  her  own  accord,  but  quite 
unsolicited;  that  I  gave  her  the  best  advice,  counsel,  and 
assistance  in  my  power;  that  I  have  never  asked  nor  re- 
ceived one  farthing  from  her  for  any  services  rendered  her; 
and  that,  up  to  within  two  days  of  her  leaving  London  for 
America,  she  expressed  her  gratitude  to  me  for  such  kindness 
in  terms  of  confidence  and  respect. 

I  further  depose  and  say,  That  the  attempt  of  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  and  her  advisers  to  injure  my  character  and  standing 
in  the  courts  and  through  the  press,  both  socially  and  at  the 
bar,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  in  England  and  on  the  Con- 
tinent, whether  to  serve  her  own  purposes,  or  for  any  other 
reason,  is  without  cause  or  justification. 

The  purpose  of  this  statement  is  to  hunt  down  and  punish 
injustice  whenever  and  wherever  found.     And,  the  better  to 


278  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

serve  this  purpose,  I  forward  herewith  certified  certificates  as 
to  my  standing  in  the  courts  of  this  State,  and  other  papers 
as  to  my  character  in  this  community. 

FRANCIS  T.  MORTON. 

Counsellor-at-Law. 
40  Simmons  Buildings,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A., 
Dec.  27,  A.D.  1880. 

This  affidavit  was  duly  certified  by  a  notary-public 
and  the  British  vice-consul. 

These  are  the  facts  known  to  Mr.  Morton,  which 
should  have  been  placed  before  the  jury,  strengthened 
and  confirmed  by  ever  so  rigorous  a  cross-examina- 
tion. 

My  next  witness  should  have  been  Capt.  Canute 
Lindmark,  my  Swedish  friend,  who  had  been,  long 
before  he  knew  me,  an  intimate  acquaintance  of  the 
prosecutrix,  on  whose  testimoiry,  as  Mr.  Justice  Haw- 
kins told  the  jury,  the  whole  fabric  of  the  prosecution 
rested.  It  was  therefore  of  great  importance  that 
there  should  be  some  witness  who  knew  the  character 
of  this  woman,  and  who  could  testify  as  to  her  rela- 
tions to  us.  Capt.  Lindmark  had  been  introduced  to 
us  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  as  her  friend.  He  visited  us 
often  in  London  :  he  accompanied  us  on  our  visit  to 
America,  having  also  business  of  his  own  ;  and,  next 
to  Mr.  Morton,  he  knew  more  of  the  facts  than  any 
other  person.      Moreover,  he  was  not  and  is  not  a 


THE   OTHER    SIDE.  279 

Spiritualist :  so  that  in  every  way  he  was  a  most  im- 
portant witness. 

I  do  not  know  why  he  was  not  called.  I  know  that 
my  solicitor,  Mr.  Lewis,  who  prepared  my  defence, 
wished  to  call  him  and  many  other  witnesses,  and  that 
not  one,  except  witnesses  as  to  character,  was  called 
by  Mr.  Addison,  and  that  this  action  was  without  my 
knowledge  or  desire. 

I  copy  the  following  affidavit  of  Capt.  Landmark 
from  a  memorial  to  the  home  secretary,  by  T.  L. 
Nichols,  M.D. 

The  Declaration  of  Capt.  Canute  Linpmaek  in  matters 
concerning  Mrs.  Susan  Willis  Fletcuek,  a  prisoner  in 
London.  • 

I  am  late-  captain  of  the  Royal  Swedish  Engineers,  and  at 
present  engaged  as  consulting  engineer  and  shareholder  in 
various  industrial  undertakings. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  in  Buenos 
Ayres,  about  the  year  1872.  She  was  then  married  to  a  gentle- 
man named  Richard,  who  for  some  time  was  employed  by  the 
Argentine  Government  as  inspector  of  mines.  I  was  at  the 
time  vice-director  of  the  engineering  department  of  the  Argen- 
tine Republic,  and  chief  engineer  of  the  public  works.  I  also 
know  Mrs.  Davies's  brother  (who,  married  to  an  Argentine 
lady,  is  living  in  Buenos  Ayres),  her  second  husband,  and  her 
pretended  aunt,  Mrs.  Sampson;  and  I  was  personally  ac- 
quainted with  Mr.  Sampson,  the  late  editor  of  the  "Times," 
whom  she  always  represented  to  me  as  her  mother's  brother. 


280  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Her  mother,  Mrs.  Heurtley,  I  saw  only  once,  when  living  at 
Hampton  Court  with  Mr.  Sampson.  As  regards  her  father, 
I  understand  that  it  is  not  known  whether  he  is  living  or  dead. 
He  was  a  quack-doctor,  who,  leaving  his  wife,  went  to  America 
years  ago. 

Soon  after  I  had  made  Mrs.  Eickard's  acquaintance,  she 
made  me  her  confidant,  describing  how  much  she  had  suffered, 
and  how  badly  she  now  was  treated,  not  only  by  her  husband 
(who  needed  to  go  away  travelling)  leaving  her  alone  in  Buenos 
Ayres  without  protection,  and  sometimes  without  sufficient 
money  to  subsist  on,  but  also  by  her  own  mother,  who  had 
forced  her  to  marry  Mr.  Rickard,  whom  she  never  loved,  and 
now  would  not  allow  her  to  return  to  London.  Believing  her 
statements  to  be  true,  I  felt  pity  for  her,  and  gave  her  what 
assistance  I  couM  afford.  On  several  occasions  I  advanced  her 
money;  and  in  18T3,  when  her  husband  was  away  in  Europe, 
and  her  health  was  very  bad,  I  took  her  to  the  mountains, 
distant  four  hundred  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres,  in  order  that 
she  might  improve  by  the  change  of  air.  This  step,  however, 
I  afterwards  regretted ;  because,  instead  of  getting  strong,  she 
rather  grew  weaker.  Nevertheless,  and  in  spite  of  my  earnest 
protestations  to  the  contrary,  Mrs.  Rickard  from  that  time 
always  used  to  speak  of  me  as  the  savior  of  her  life. 

In  1S74  Mr.  Rickard  came  back  to  River  Plate  to  take  his 
wife  and  son  over  to  England,  where  he  had  determined  to 
settle.  They  all  landed  at  Liverpool  about  the  month  of  June 
of  the  same  year.  There  Mr.  Rickard  left  his  wife,  and  together 
with  his  son  went  to  London,  where  he  immediately  instituted 
proceedings  against  her  for  adultery,  committed  on  board  the 
steamer,  with  an  Italian  named  Amadeo.  The  proofs  being 
convincing,  her  mother,  Mrs.  Heurtley,  in  order  to  avoid  scan- 
dal, suggested  to  her  not  to  dispute  the  charge ;  and  thus  the 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  281 

divorce  was  granted.  When  Mrs.  Rickard  came  to  London, 
neither  Mrs.  Heurtley  nor  Mr.  Sampson  would  see  her;  and 
she  was  obliged  to  go  and  live  with  strangers.  But  Mrs. 
Heurtley  would  not  even  allow  her  daughter  to  live  in  the 
same  country  where  she  lived;  and  thus  Mrs.  Rickard  was 
obliged,  after  some  months,  to  leave  England,  and  settle  in 
Tours  in  France. 

When  these  events  took  place,  I  was  in  London,  having  been 
commissioned  by  the  Argentine  Government  to  inspect  some 
railway  materials;  and  .during  that  time,  and  also  afterwards, 
Mrs.  Rickard  used  to  write  to  me  about  her  private  affairs. 
Soon  after,  I  returned  to  River  Plate,  which  country  I  left  in 
1876  to  settle  in  Sweden.  On  my  way  home  I  visited  Mrs. 
Rickard  in  Tours,  and  found  her  occupying  a  small  bedroom 
in  one  of  the  hotels,  evidently  in  a  very  poor  condition.  She 
complained  to  me  bitterly,  that  her  mother  not  only  kept  her 
in  exile,  but  refused  to  give  her  sufficient  to  live  on,  her  yearly 
allowance  being  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  More- 
over, this  allowance  was  paid  only  to  herself  in  person  at  Tours 
in  small  instalments,  so  that  she  could  not  go  and  live  any- 
where else. 

The  following  year  Mrs.  Heurtley  and  Mr.  Sampson  both 
died,  and  then  Mrs.  Rickard  was  not  prevented  from  returning 
to  England. 

Mrs.  Rickard  had  often  stated  to  me  that  her  mother  was 
very  rich,  having  a  yearly  income  of  from  nine  thousand  to 
twelve  thousand  pounds;  and  on  the  death  of  her  mother  and 
uncle  she  wrote  to  me  from  France,  stating  that  she  and  her 
brother  had  inherited  all  their  property.  She  also  informed  me 
that  she  already  had  had  three  offers  of  marriage,  but  refused 
them  all.  In  reply,  I  wrote  to  her,  that,  in  my  opinion,  the 
best  thing  she  could  do,  under  the  present  circumstances,  was 


282  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

to  marry  again ;  and  some  time  after  she  engaged  herself  to 
Mr.  Hart-Davies. 

Returning  from  France,  Mrs.  Rickard  went  to  live  with  Mrs. 
Sampson  at  Hampton  Court.  There  I  visited  her  twice,  —  once 
before  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Hart-Davies,  and  once  after. 
She  told  me  that  she  had  married  Mr.  Davies,  not  because  she 
loved  him,  but  out  of  pity,  seeing  how  deeply  attached  he  was 
to  her.  She  meant  to  use  her  influence  over  him  to  improve 
his  mind,  and  raise  him  from  the  low  position  he  had  formerly 
occupied.  Speaking  of  her  trustees,  she  said  that  they  would 
not  give  her  any  money,  and  insinuated  that  they  systemati- 
cally robbed  her. 

Again,  in  the  autumn  of  1S79,  I  came  to  London  on  business, 
and  went  to  see  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  who  was  then  living  with 
her  husband  at  Vernon  Place.  I  found  her  in  a  state  of  great 
excitement.  She  told  me  that  she  was  most  unhappy.  Her 
husband  was  a  drunkard,  who  would  do  no  work,  and  only 
wanted  to  live  on  her  money.  She  had  been  obliged  to  move 
from  Farquhar  Lodge,  where  they  lived  before,  to  London ; 
because  she  had  noticed  that  her  husband  intentionally  left 
her  without  medical  assistance  when  she  was  very  ill,  thus 
endangering  her  life.  While  I  was  sitting  in  the  drawing- 
room  with  Mrs.  Davies,  her  husband  came  home,  and,  without 
entering  the  drawing-room,  passed  up  stairs  to  his  own  private 
apartments.  I  then  saw  Mrs.  Davies  on  his  approach  become 
very  agitated,  seemingly  trembling  with  fear.  Upon  that  she 
began  to  speak  of  her  new  friends,  the  Fletchers,  who  had  been 
very  good  to  her  during  this  time  of  unhappiness,  and  asked 
if  I  would  not  allow  her  to  introduce  me  to  them.  I  replied 
that  it  was  hardly  possible,  as  I  was  going  to  Sweden  in  a 
couple  of  days,  and  my  time  was  very  much  engaged.  But 
finally,  on  her  insisting,  I  consented;  and  on  the  following 


THE   OTHEP    SIDE.  283 

evening    I    accompanied    her  to  their  house   at  22  Gordon 
Street. 

On  our  way  home,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  said  that  her  hope  was 
to  come  and  live  with  the  Fletchers,  and  that  she  would  do 
every  thing  in  her  power  to  become  a  member  of  their  family. 
I  got  rather  surprised  at  this  statement,  and  did  my  best  to 
show  her  the  imprudence  of  such  a  step.  "The  Fletchers," 
I  said,  "have  both  of  them  impressed  me  very  favorably;  but 
they  are  North-Americans  and  Spiritualists,  and  as  such  it 
would  not  be  advisable  to  place  your  future  in  their  hands." 
She  replied,  that  she  was  sorry  to  see  that  I  shared  the  common 
prejudice  of  the  English  people;  that  the  Fletchers'  house  was 
frequented  by  the  very  best  people  in  London,  and  that  she 
herself  had  seen  the  Princess  of  Wales  come  and  pay  them  a 
visit.  In  fact,  she  would  not  at  all  listen  to  my  advice,  but 
continued  to  speak  of  the  Fletchers  in  the  most  enthusiastic 
terms.  Soon,  however,  I  found  that  Mr.  Fletcher  was  the 
principal,  if  not  the  sole,  object  of  her  admiration.  Indeed, 
neither  on  this  occasion  nor  afterwards,  did  Mrs.  Davies, 
speaking  of  Mrs.  Fletcher  alone,  represent  her  friend  in  a 
favorable  light:  on  the  contrary,  she  described  Mrs.  Fletcher 
to  me  as  a  cold-natured  woman,  devoid  of  the  natural  feelings 
of  her  sex. 

I  returned  to  Sweden  the  following  day  or  the  next.  After 
my  arrival  in  Sweden,  I  received  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Davies 
requesting  me  to  lend  her  five  hundred  pounds  in  order  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  her  intended  voyage  to  France.  This 
money,  however,  I  declined  to  advance  her. 

In  the  beginning  of  last  year  I  returned  to  England  ;  and,  six 
or  seven  weeks  after  my  arrival  in  London,  I  wrent  to  see  the 
Fletchers.  They  informed  me  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was 
going  to  live  with  them  after  her  return  from  France,  and  that 


284  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

they  expected  her  in  a  month's  time.  Mrs.  Davies  had  solicited 
their  protection,  because  she  found  it  impossible  to  stay  any 
longer  with  her  husband,  and  because  her  aunt,  Mrs.  Sampson, 
would  not  receive  her  in  her  house. 

In  May  Mrs.  Davies  arrived  from  France,  taking  up  her 
abode  with  the  Fletchers.  I  now  visited  their  house  frequent- 
ly; and,  being  an  old  friend  of  Mrs.  Davies,  I  also  became  in- 
timate with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  availed 
herself  of  the  first  opportunity  to  explain  to  me  more  fully  the 
reasons  why  she  had  left  her  husband.  Mr.  Davies,  she  said, 
had  after  their  marriage  endeavored  to  impress  upon  her  the 
necessity  of  making  a  will,  and  one  day,  while  they  were  living 
at  Farquhar  Lodge,  he  brought  with  him  from  London  twro 
men  whom  she  did  not  knowr,  but  who  were  introduced  to  her 
as  solicitors.  They  laid  before  her  a  d<  cument,  which  she 
found  to  be  a  will  in  favor  of  her  husband,  and  which  they 
forced  her  to  sign.  After  this  she  began  to  suspect  her  hus- 
band of  entertaining  plans  against  her  life,  and  said  she  had 
once  discovered  him  bringing  a  glass  of  port  wine  that  was 
poisoned;  and  that,  not  succeeding  in  poisoning  her,  Mr. 
Davies  had  taken  measures  to  have  her  shut  up  in  a  lunatic- 
asylum,  and  for  several  days  she  saw  men  of  suspicious  appear- 
ance strolling  about  her  house  at  Vernon  Place.  It  was  then 
she  secretly  left  her  husband,  and  went  to  France  without 
letting  him  know  her  address. 

All  these  incidents  Mrs.  Davies  related  to  me  in  full  details, 
and  with  such  an  air  of  conviction  that  for  some  time  I 
believed  her.  Afterwards,  however,  I  found,  from  what  her 
husband,  and  her  trustee  Mr.  Burrows,  told  me,  that  her  story 
was  false  from  beginning  to  end.  At  Farquhar  Lodge  she  had 
really  made  a  will  in  favor  of  her  husband;  but  it  was  made 
entirely  of  her  own  accord,  and  without  her  husband  interfer- 


THE   OTHER    SIDE.  285 

ing  at  all.  This  will  she  soon  after  cancelled.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Burrows,  a  trustee  of  Mrs.  Davies,  was  under  the  impression 
that  she  never  gave  her  husband  any  money.  "Mr.  Davies 
[he  said]  possessed  before  marrying  a  little  capital  of  his  own; 
and  that  capital,  together  with  a  considerable  sum  which  his 
brother  had  advanced  him,  was  spent  in  sustaining  the  house." 
"When  Mr.  Davies  could  not  procure  any  more  money,  his  wife 
left  him. 

I  asked  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  if  her  husband,  knowing  that  she 
lived  with  the  Fletchers,  could  not  compel  her  to  come  back  to 
his  house.  She  answered,  that  he  would  not  dare  to  do  such  a 
thing;  because  he  knew,  that,  the  moment  he  evinced  such  an 
intention,  she  would  petition  for  a  divorce  on  the  ground  of  his 
physical  failing.  In  fact,  he  never  made  the  slightest  attempt 
to  induce  his  wife  to  return. 

With  regard  to  her  trustees,  Mrs.  Davies  used  still  more 
abusive  language  than  before;  declaring  it  was  her  intention  to 
bring  them  up  before  the  Court  of  Chancery  as  soon  as  she 
could  procure  sufficient  money  to  pay  the  law-expenses. 

Mrs.  Davies  had  not  been  a  fortnight  with  the  Fletchers 
before  she  commenced  to  reveal  her  true  character.  Finding 
her  intentions  frustrated  with  regard  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  who,  she 
saw,  loved  and  respected  his  wife  too  much  to  be  more  than  a 
friend  and  brother  to  her,  she  suddenly  changed,  from  the  pure 
and  suffering  victim  she  had  artfully  represented  herself  to  be 
to  the  Fletchers,  to  a  jealous  and  capricious  woman. 

When  I  saw  how  disagreeable  she  made  herself  to  her  hosts, 
and  that  neither  of  them  was  capable  of  pacifying  her  bad 
temper,  I  one  day,  in  a  private  conversation,  expressed  to  her 
my  surprise  at  her  strange  conduct,  which  appeared  to  me  the 
more  inexplicable  as  she  was  treated  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness.   She  interrupted  me,  saying,  "  They  ought  to  be  kind  to 


286  TWELVE   MONTHS   IX   PRISON. 

me.  I  have  shared  with  them  my  worldly  goods,  and  even 
made  a  will  in  their  favor.  But  that,  of  course,  I  can  all  can- 
cel to-morrow  if  I  like,"  she  added;  and  with  these  words  she 
left  me.  When  I  next  saw  Mrs.  Fletcher,  I  asked  her  if  Mrs. 
Davies  had  made  a  will  in  her  favor;  to  which  she  answered, 
"No."  —  "But  she  herself  told  me  so,"  I  said.  "  Then,  she 
has  done  so  without  our  knowledge,"'  Mrs.  Fletcher  replied. 
"The  only  document  I  know  of  is  a  deed  of  gift,  by  which  she 
made  over  to  us  the  things  she-brought  to  the  house,  so  as  to 
prevent  her  husband  from  claiming  them."  Thinking  that 
Mrs.  Davies,  using  the  word  "  will,"  had  really  meant  the  deed 
of  gift,  I  did  not  inquire  any  further  into  the  matter. 

Mrs.  Fletcher,  although  she  occasionally  wore  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies's  jewelry,  and  had  some  old  china  and  crystals  belong- 
ing to  Mrs.  Davies  in  her  drawing-room,  did  never,  to  my 
knowledge,  pretend  that  these  things  were  her  own.  In  fact, 
one  day,  when  Mrs.  Fletcher,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  myself 
were  sitting  in  the  back  drawing-room,  Mrs.  Fletcher,  pointing 
at  various  things,  said  to  me,  "Nearly  all  these  dainty  things 
you  see  in  this  room  belong  to  Juliet." 

Mrs.  Davies1  s  extraordinary  conduct,  as  also  the  fact  that 
none  of  the  many  old  friends  she  pretended  to  have  in  London 
came  to  visit  her  after  her  return  from  France,  greatly  aston- 
ished Mr.  Fletcher,  and  caused  him  to  make  inquiries  about 
her  former  life,  of  which  she  evidently  had  given  him  quite 
an  erroneous  idea.  One  afternoon,  when  I  happened  to  be 
alone  in  the  drawing-room,  Mrs.  Davies  entered  in  a  very 
agitated  state.  Throwing  herself  on  the  sofa,  she  began  to  cry 
hysterically.  "Willie  has  made  me  confess,"  she  said;  "and 
now  he  despises  me." 

Indeed,  after  this  it  seems  to  have  become  clear  to  the 
Fletchers  that  Mrs.  Davies  could  not  continue  to  be  an  inmate 


THE   OTHER    SIDE.  287 

of  their  house,  but  that  she  must  sooner  or  later  leave  them. 
On  one  occasion  I  was  present  when  Mrs.  Davies  began  to  com- 
plain, as  she  often  used  to  do,  to  Mrs.  Fletcher  of  the  coldness  of 
her  husband.  "  He  is  my  brother,"  she  said ;  "  and  as  such  he 
ought  to  be  more  kind  to  me  than  he  is:  now  he  scarcely 
notices  me."  And  so  she  went  on,  till  at  last  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
growing  angry,  told  her  plainly,  that,  if  she  was  not  satisfied 
with  her  husband,  she  had  better  take  her  things,  and  leave 
the  house  at  once;  upon  which  Mrs.  Davies  had  a  hysterical 
attack,  and  then  asked  Mrs.  Fletcher's  pardon. 

In  the  mean  time  I  returned  to  Sweden,  having  previously 
agreed  to  accompany  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  on  their  voyage  to 
America,  which  country  I  intended  to  visit  for  the  purpose 
of  inspecting  certain  manufacturing  establishments.  Conse- 
quently, I  returned  to  England  towards  the  end  of  July,  when 
we  all  left  for  America,  Mrs.  Davies  and  Miss  Spencer  being 
also  of  the  party. 

On  board  the  steamer,  Mrs.  Davies  became  so  conspicuous 
for  her  imprudent  behavior,  remaining  on  deck  till  late  in  the 
night,  after  all  the  other  lady-passengers  had  retired,  that  I  felt 
bound  to  signify  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  that,  for  the  decorum  of 
the  party,  he  should  compel  Mrs.  Davies  to  conduct  herself 
properly.  In  this  he  succeeded,  but  only  after  threatening  to 
separate  her  from  the  party,  and  send  her  back  by  the  return- 
ing steamer  to  England. 

We  disembarked  at  New  York,  and  went  from  there  to  a 
Spiritualistic  camp-meeting  at  a  place  called  Lake  Pleasant, 
not  far  from  Boston.  At  this  meeting  were  also  two  men,  both 
Spiritualists,  of  whom  Mrs.  Fletcher  had  on  several  occasions 
spoken  to  me  as  her  bitterest  enemies:  they  had  come  over 
from  England  only  a  few  days  before  us.  One  of  them  calls 
himself  Dr.  Mack,  and  the  name  of  the  other  is  Rondi.  The 
latter  is  an  Italian  artist. 


288  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

With  these  men,  whom  Mrs.  Fletcher  did  not  even  recognize 
at  the  camp,  and  of  whom  at  least  Dr.  Mack  was  entirely 
unknown  to  Mrs.  Davies,  she  immediately  formed  intimate 
relations;  and,  in  concert  with  them,  the  plan  to  defame  the 
Fletchers  was  conceived,  which  afterwards  was  so  successfully 
carried  out.  About  a  week  after  our  arrival  at  the  camp- 
meeting,  Mrs.  Davies  told  me  that  she  was  going  to  spend  a 
few  days  at  the  watering-place,  Saratoga,  with  an  American 
family  whose  acquaintance  she  had  just  made,  but  that  she 
would  be  back  soon.  She  then  left  the  camp,  taking  scarcely 
any  luggage  with  her.  But,  instead  of  going  to  Saratoga,  she 
went  with  her  two  friends,  Dr.  Mack  and  Kondi,  to  a  village 
in  the  neighborhood.  There  they  got  a  search-warrant;  and 
provided  with  this,  and  a  power-of-attorney  from  Mrs.  Davies, 
Dr.  Mack  presented  himself  at  Lake  Pleasant  to  recover  Mrs. 
Davies' s  stolen  property  from  the  Fletchers.  I  did  not  then 
know  that  there  had  been  any  difficulties  whatever  between 
the  Fletchers  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  with  regard  to  her  prop- 
erty, nor  do  I  believe  that  there  ever  existed  any.  I  had  heard 
Mrs.  Fletcher  say  to  her  husband,  shortly  after  Mrs.  Davies 
had  left  the  camp,  "I  asked  her  to  take  her  things  with  her; 
but  she  would  not,  saying  that  she  intended  to  come  back  in  a 
few  days."  Consequently,  I  thought  Mrs.  Davies' s  behavior 
atrocious,  and  advised  the  Fletchers  not  to  give  up  the  prop- 
erty to  Dr.  Mack.  However,  they  did  not  follow  my  advice: 
so  he  got  the  things.  It  seems  natural,  if  there  had  actually 
been  any  dispute  about  her  jewelry  and  other  things,  that  Mrs. 
Davies  should  have  addressed  herself  to  me,  her  old  friend, 
who  on  various  occasions  before  had  assisted  her,  instead  of 
having  recourse  to  two  strangers,  whom  she,  moreover,  knew 
to  be  enemies  of  the  Fletchers;  but  on  that  subject  she  never 
said  a  word  to  me. 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  289 

From  Lake  Pleasant,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher,  Miss  Spencer, 
and  I  went  to  Boston.  Dr.  Mack,  Mr.  Rondi,  and  Mrs.  Davies 
also  went  there.  There  they  got  a  new  search-warrant,  claim- 
ing part  of  Mrs.  Davies' s  property  that  was  left  in  the  Fletchers' 
house  in  London,  such  as  a  string  of  Oriental  pearls,  etc., 
mentioned  during  the  trial.  Dr.  Mack  and  Mrs.  Davies,  accom- 
panied hy  detectives,  came  to  the  house  where  we  lived  between 
three  and  four  in  the  afternoon,  and  had  the  house  ransacked. 
Some  linen  clothes  belonging  to  Mrs.  Davies  being  found  in 
Mrs.  Fletcher's  trunk,  they  on  that  account  arrested  Mrs. 
Fletcher;  and  as  they  had  fixed  the  bail  at  the  enormous  sum 
of  ten  thousand  pounds,  which  of  course  could  not  be  pro- 
cured in  the  afternoon,  she  was  obliged  to  go  to  prison.  The 
following  morning  the  judge  released  her  on  a  bail  of  only 
three  hundred  pounds.  Mr.  Fletcher  was  out  of  Boston  at 
the  time,  and  was  not  imprisoned.  Mrs.  Davies  also  caused 
my  trunks  to  be  searched,  evidently  in  hopes  of  finding  some 
of  her  tilings  amongst  mine,  which  would  have  given  her  an 
opportunity  of  implicating  me  in  the  affair. 

The  reporters  of  the  newspapers  being  now  invited  to  inter- 
view Mrs.  Davies,  she  told  them  the  most  extraordinary  stories 
about  herself  and  the  Fletchers,  which  afterwards  circulated 
through  the  whole  American  press;  numerous  copies  being 
also  sent  by  Mrs.  Davies  and  her  associates  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fletcher's  friends  in  England.  She  there  represented  herself 
to  be  a  high-born  young  lady,  and  very  rich,  and  stated  that 
the  property  alone  which  she  had  recovered  from  the  Fletchers 
at  Lake  Pleasant  was  worth  sixteen  thousand  pounds.  As  for 
the  Fletchers,  there  is  not  an  infamy  with  which  she  did  not 
charge  them. 

When  the  case  w^as  brought  before  the  Police-Court  in  Bos- 
ton, it  was  at  first  postponed  in  order  to  allow  the  Fletchers  to 


290  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

get  over  from  London  certain  documents  referring  to  the  trans- 
fer of  Mrs.  Davies's  property.  Before  they  arrived,  I  asked  Mr. 
Fletcher  about  their  contents.  "I  cannot  tell  you,"  he  an- 
swered. "  I  never  saw  them ,  and  I  do  not  know  whether  there 
are  two,  or  only  one."  I  then  put  the  same  question  to  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  and  her  lawyer  also  asked  her;  but  neither  could  she 
tell.  "  There  is  a  deed  of  gift,"  she  said,  "  which  Mrs.  Davies 
made  in  our  favor  before  she  went  to  France;  but  I  cannot 
remember  what  it  contains.  It  was  read  to  me  only  once;  and 
then  I  remember  to  have  remarked  that  a  clause  must  be  put 
in  explaining  that  she  made  it  entirely  of  her  own  accord,  and 
free  from  any  influence  of  others." 

After  the  arrival  of  the  documents,  the  case  was  again  post- 
poned for  about  six  weeks*  because  a  settlement  had  been 
offered  and  accepted,  by  which  Mrs.  Davies  was  to  pay  the 
Fletchers  compensation  for  all  their  trouble.  Mrs.  Davies, 
however,  instead  of  carrying  the  agreement  into  effect,  escaped 
with  Dr.  Mack  to  England,  while  the  Fletchers  were  detained 
in  Boston  to  answer  the  charge  at  the  next  hearing  before  the 
Police-Court. 

In  October  I  returned  to  Europe.  Before  leaving  Boston, 
Mrs.  Fletcher  asked  me,  when  I  arrived  in  London,  to  go  to 
their  house,  and  have  all  their  letters  from  Mrs.  Davies  col- 
lected and  secured.  "These  letters,"  she  added,  "are  of  the 
greatest  importance  in  case  of  any  future  complications;  as 
they  show  how  Mrs.  Davies  came  to  live  with  us,  and  make 
out  the  deed  of  gift."  Accordingly,  the  very  day  I  arrived  in 
London,  I  went  to  22  Gordon  Street,  where  I  was  received  by 
Mrs.  and  Miss  Maltby  and  Miss  Gay,  who  were  taking  care  of 
the  house  during  the  Fletchers'  absence.  On  inquiring  about 
the  letters,  I  was  told  that  Mrs.  Davies  and  Dr.  Mack,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.   Abrahams   and   a  detective,  had,  eight  days 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  291 

before  my  arrival,  forced  themselves  into  the  house,  and  ran- 
sacked it  from  the  top  down  to  the  cellar.  Mrs.  Davies  had 
taken  away,  not  only  what  belonged  to  her,  but  also  a  quantity 
of  things  which  they  knew  belonged  to  the  Fletchers,  as  well 
as  their  private  letters  and  other  papers.  "Then,"  I  said, 
"  there  is  no  use  for  me  to  look  for  Mrs.  Davies' s  letters."  To 
which  Miss  Gay  replied,  "After  they  had  gone,  there  was  not 
a  letter  of  hers  left  in  the  house,  except  one,  which  I  found  in 
one  of  the  bedrooms,  and  which  I  afterwards  sent  to  Mrs. 
Fletcher."  I  was  also  told  that  Mrs.  Davies,  after  coming  back 
from  America,  had  been  calling  on  numbers  of  people  whose 
acquaintance  she  had  made  in  the  Fletchers'  house,  calumniat- 
ing them  in  every  imaginable  way.  _  Amongst  other  stories  she 
told  was,  that  the  Fletchers  had  tried  to  poison  her  both  in 
London  and  America.  In  this  laudable  occupation  she  seems 
to  have  been  faithfully  assisted  by  her  two  associates. 

I  now  went  to  call  on  Mrs.  Davies's  trustee,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Burrows,  at  Hampton,  to  request  him  to  see  Mrs.  Davies,  and 
prevent  her  from  creating  any  further  scandal.  He  answered, 
that  he  had  not  seen  Mrs.  Davies  since  she  had  come  home 
from  America.  She  had  written  to  him,  asking  him  to  visit 
her;  but  he  would  not  go,  because  he  considered  her  such  a 
bad  and  "dangerous  woman,"  who  by  her  slander  might 
damage  his  reputation  as  a  clergyman.  He  considered  the 
Fletchers  respectable  people,  and  believed  them  entirely  inno- 
cent of  the  crimes  charged  in  Mrs.  Davies' s  vile  accusations, 
"If  anybody  has  been  deceived  in  this  affair,"  he  said,  "it  is 
not  Mrs.  Davies.  She  is  too  shrewd  and  clever  a  woman  to  be 
duped  in  such  a  coarse  manner  as  she  pretends."  Moreover, 
he  told  me  he  suspected  that  jealousy  was  at  the  bottom  of  the 
whole  affair,  and  asked  me  if  Mrs.  Davies  had  not  been  Mr. 
Fletcher  s  mistress.     With  regard  to  me,  he   said   that  Mrs. 


292  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Hart-Davies  had  felt  greatly  disappointed  because  I  did  not 
make  her  an  offer  of  marriage  when  I  visited  Hampton  Court, 
soon  after  the  death  of  her  mother  and  Mr.  Sampson. 

Speaking  of  Mrs.  Davies's  property,  he  said  that  the  only 
thing  of  value  that  she  brought  to  the  Fletchers'  house  did 
not  belong  to  her,  but  to  the  trustees,  and  that  her  own  prop- 
erty was  worth  nothing  to  speak  of.  I  told  him  that  he  must 
be  mistaken;  as  I  myself  had  seen  some  jewelry  of  consider- 
able value  that  formerly  belonged  to  Mrs  Heurtley,  and  now 
was  in  her  daughter's  possession.  Mr.  Burrows  looked  rather 
surprised  at  this  statement,  and  wondered  how  her  possession 
of  these  things  could  have  been  kept  a  secret  from  him.  I 
also  visited  Mrs.  Sampson,  who  was  living  at  Sandgate.  She 
stated  to  me,  that  she  delivered  up  to  Mrs.  Davies  her  mother's 
jewels  and  wardrobe  when  she  came  back  to  England,  after 
Mrs.  Heurtley's  and  Mr.  Sampson's  death. 

When  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  brought  up  before  the  Police-Court 
in  Bow  Street,  Mrs.  Davies  represented  herself,  through  Mr. 
Abrahams,  as  a  lady  of  great  wealth  and  of  high  social  posi- 
tion and  moral  character,  while  she  charged  Mrs.  Fletcher  with 
defrauding,  stealing,  attempts  at  poisoning,  and  keeping  a  free- 
love  establishment.  Knowing  that  all  these  vile  accusations 
were  utterly  false,  and  that  I  myself,  by  my  attentions  to  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  had  contributed  to  awaken  Mrs.  Davies's  jealousy  and 
hatred,  and  that  Mrs.  Fletcher,  after  having  been  robbed  of  all 
her  letters  and  other  papers,  was  left  without  any  means  of 
defence  against  an  unscrupulous  enemy,  whose  evidence,  ac- 
cording to  English  law,  would  be  valid  before  the  Court,  I 
thought  it  my  duty,  in  order  to  save  a  person  in  my  opinion 
unjustly  accused,  to  deliver  up  to  Mrs.  Fletcher's  solicitor  cer- 
tain letters,  which,  written  by  Mrs.  Davies,  and  showing  her 
true  character,  would  to  a  great  extent  invalidate  her  testi- 


THE    OTHER    SIDE.  293 

mony.  These  letters  were  not  admitted  as  evidence  before  the 
Court,  and  consequently  Mrs.  Davies  remained  to  the  end  of 
the  trial,  in  the  eyes  of  the  judge  and  the  jury,  the  pure  and 
victimized  woman  she  represented  herself  to  be.  And,  as  might 
be  supposed  from  the  nature  of  her  character,  she  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  make  the  gravest  misstatements  in  her  evidence  before 
the  Central  Criminal  Court,  so  as  to  get  the  object  of  her  hatred 
convicted.  To  my  knowledge  she  perjured  herself  when  stat- 
ing— 

1st,  About  her  relations  to  me. 

2d,  That  she  was  not  guilty  of  the  adultery  on  account  of 
which  her  first  husband  obtained  a  divorce. 

3d,  That  she  always  lived  on  the  best  terms  with  her  mother, 
—  a  statement  sufficiently  contradicted  by  the  fact  admitted  at 
the  trial ;  namely,  that,  during  several  years  before  her  mother's 
death,  she  (Mrs.  Hart-Davies)  was  not  allowed  to  see  her. 

4th,  That  Mrs.  Heurtley  during  her  lifetime  gave  her  the 
jewels  and  other  things  which  Mrs.  Davies  herself  values  at 
ten  thousand  pounds,  and  which  she  accused  the  Fletchers  of 
obtaining  from  her  by  false  pretences.  This  statement  Mrs. 
Sampson  contradicted  to  me  as  above  mentioned:  she  allowed 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  take  possession  of  her  mother's  jewels  and 
wardrobe  after  the  death  of  Mrs.  Heurtley  and  Mr.  Sampson. 
Mrs.  Davies,  consequently,  had  already  committed  perjury  be- 
fore the  Probate  Court,  when  she  stated  that  the  property  she 
took  from  Hampton  Court  was  worth  only  a  hundred  pounds. 

5th,  That  she  never  told  anybody  that  her  husband  tried  to 
poison  her. 

6th,  That  she  never  spoke  of  her  trustees  in  abusive 
terms. 

7th,  That  she  never  pretended  to  be  a  Spiritualistic  medium. 
On  several  occasions  she  spoke  to  me  of  her  mediumship,  and 


294  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

that  she  was  in  constant  communication  with  her  deceased 
mother. 

8th,  That  she  did  not  take  away  any  letters  when  she  and 
Dr.  Mack,  on  their  return  from  America,  ransacked  Mr. 
Fletcher's  house  in  Gordon  Street. 

9th,  That  she  only  loved  Mr.  Fletcher  as  a  brother. 

When  I  first  made  Mrs.  Davies's  acquaintance  in  Buenos 
Ayres,  she  wanted  me,  too,  to  be  her  brother;  yet  her  feelings 
to  me  had  nothing  of  a  sister's.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  is  naturally 
a  woman  of  great  intelligence  and  penetrating  mind,  which 
qualities  are  further  enhanced  by  a  good  education,  and  travels 
in  foreign  countries.  She  speaks  French  and  Spanish  tolerably 
well,  is  clever  at  drawing,  and  writes  both  prose  and  poetry 
beautifully.  Unfortunately,  these  qualities  are  neutralized  by 
her  sensual  propensities,  which,  greatly  developed  during  the 
last  few  years,  not  only  make  her  forget  her  own  dignity  and 
her  family's  honor,  but  cause  her  to  grow  nearly  insane.  To 
gratify  her  desires  in  this  respect,  she  is  capable  of  any  thing. 
Being  infatuated  with  Mr.  Fletcher,  she  makes  him  believe 
that  she  is  a  fervent  Spiritualist  and  an  innocent  victim  of  the 
ill-treatment  of  her  husband,  her  relations,  and  her  trustees,  so 
as  to  awake  his  sympathy  and  pity.  Upon  that  she  asks  him 
to  take  care  of  her  property  in  order  to  save  it  from  her  rapa- 
cious husband  and  trustees,  and  thus  succeeds  in  becoming  a 
member  of  his  family  and  circle  of  friends.  At  last,  seeing 
that  all  her  efforts  with  regard  to  Mr.  Fletcher  had  been  made 
in  vain,  she  addresses  herself  to  me  and  others  with  similar 
intentions. 

Not  gaining  her  object  in  any  way,  she  naturally  ascribes 
her  failure  to  Mrs.  Fletcher,  whom  she  sees  admired  by  every- 
body visiting  the  house,  while  she  herself  is  scarcely  noticed. 
Her  jealousy  of  Mrs.  Fletcher  I  discovered  immediately  after 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  ,   295 

her  coming  to  live  with  them;  and  my  conviction  is,  that  she 
never  loved  Mis.  Fletcher,  nor  suffered  herself  to  be  influenced 
by  her,  as  she  stated  before  the  Court.  This  became  so  obvious 
to  me,  that  once  or  twice  I  warned  Mrs.  Fletcher,  saying  I 
believed  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  hated  her.  She,  however, 
would  not  believe  it. 

With  regard  to  Mrs.  Fletcher,  I  entertain  a  high  opinion 
both  of  her  intellect  and  moral  character,  and  believe  her 
utterly  incapable  of  committing  a  fraud  such  as  that  of  which 
she  has  been  convicted,  and  which  has  been  justly  stigmatized 
as  one  of  the  coarsest  and  most  clumsy  that  ever  were  at- 
tempted. Indeed,  I  cannot  believe  that  any  woman  having  in 
view  to  defraud  another  of  her  jewels  should,  on  the  second 
time  they  meet,  be  so  stupid  as  to  reveal  her  intentions  in  the 
way  Mrs.  Davies  testifies  with  regard  to  Mrs.  Fletcher,  nor 
that  there  is  any  woman  that  could  possibly  be  deceived  in 
such  a  coarse  manner.  Mrs.  Fletcher  is  a  sincere  believer  in" 
Spiritualism,  and  among  Spiritualists  she  is  considered  to  be 
a  powerful  medium.  However,  of  her  mediumship  I  cannot 
myself  judge;  as  I  never  was  present  at  a  seance,  neither  with 
her  nor  with  Mr.  Fletcher.  But  I  could  not  fail  to  notice 
during  the  time  I  frequented  her  house,  and  during  the  voyage 
to  America,  how  with  the  Fletchers,  as  with  other  Spiritualists 
whose  acquaintance  I  made,  spiritual  communications  inter- 
fered even  with  the  most  trivial  occupations  of  daily  life,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  furnished  a  constant  subject  of  con- 
versation. Mrs.  Fletcher,  though  fully  aware  that  my  opinions 
in  this  respect  entirely  differed  from  hers,  would  often  tell  me 
that  she  had  seen  my  deceased  mother's  spirit,  and  that  it  had 
spoken  to  her;  and  after  I  had  parted  from  her  in  America, 
and  gone  home  to  Sweden,  she  wrote  me  several  letters,  in 
which  visions  of  this  kind  were  referred  to. 


296    ,  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Contrary  to  the  jury's  verdict,  I  therefore  fully  believe  that 
Mrs.  Fletcher,  when  writing  to  Mrs.  Davies,  while  in  France, 
about  her  deceased  mother,  really  was  convinced   that  Mrs. 
Heurtley's  spirit  communicated  with  her. 
(Signed) 

CANUTE  MNDMARK. 

The  above  affidavit,  duly  sworn  and  certified,  was 
sent  to  the  home  secretary  b}-  the  Swedish  minister. 
It  is  not  in  the  least  probable,  however,  that  he  ever 
saw,  much  less  read,  it.  If  he  had  read  a  declaration 
so  transparently  honest,  he  could  not  have  kept  me 
one  day  longer  in  the  prison  I  have  yet  to  describe.  I 
am  sony  that  Capt.  Landmark  is  not  a  Spiritualist ; 
but  a  more  simple-hearted,  honest,  and  honorable  gen- 
tleman, or  a  truer,  more  unselfish  friend,  I  have  never 
known.  He  has  some  of  the  faults  of  the  heroic 
Scandinavian  character ;  but  he  has  its  virtues  as  well, 
and  one  of  them  is  simple,  unwavering  veracity.  But 
the  home  secretary  was  too  busy  making  political 
speeches  to  give  any  attention  to  Dr.  Nichols's  memo- 
rial, and  its  most  important  accompanying  documents. 

Among  these  documents  were  the  statements  of  sev- 
eral persons  most  intimately  acquainted  with  our  life 
at  Gordon  Street  and  our  relations  to  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies.  One  of  these,  Miss  E.  S.  Gay  of  Penzance 
House,  Cornwall,  happened  to  be  at  our  house  when 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Mack  and  Mr. 
Abrahams,  came  and  removed  whatever  property  the 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  297 

lady  claimed  to  the  Bedford  Pantechnicon,  including 
many  articles  which  had  never  belonged  to  her,  and 
her  part  of  our  correspondence,  as  has  been  already 
stated. 

Miss  Gay  says, — 

"I  saw  her  search  the  private  desk  of  Mr.  Fletcher  in  the 
dining-room,  and  remove  letters  from  it,  the  said  desk  having 
been  previously  arranged  by  me  for  the  sake  of  convenience, 
in  the  presence  of  Miss  Maltby,  when  we  both  noticed  that  the 
whole  of  the  letters  were  addressed  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher; 
and  I  also  noticed  that  letters  which  were  placed  behind  the 
mirror  had    disappeared,   by  which    proceedings  Mrs.   Hart- 
Davies  was  enabled  to  deprive  the  Fletchers  of  an  important 
part  of  their  defence.      On  the  trial  she  denied  on  oath  that 
she  had  even  seen   any  letters.     The  cellar-door  was  burst 
open  forcibly,  and  the  whole  of  the  wine  removed,  and  the 
house  left  in  confusion.     A  few  days  subsequently  we  heard 
from  a  person  sent  from  Mr.  Abrahams' s  office,  that  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  threatened  legal  proceedings  against  the  Fletchers.     I 
telegraphed  the  occurrence  of  her  visit  to  them,  and  also  wrote 
to  inform  them  of  the  threatened  arrest  ;   which  letter  was 
received  by  them  before  Mrs.  Fletcher  left  Boston  to  return 
to  England,  which  she  said  she  should  do  to  vindicate  her 
character;  although  we  learned  from  Capt.  Lindmark,  on  his 
return  to  London  on  Oct.  31,  that  she  had  been  very  ill  from 
the  anxiety  and  injustice  she  had  already  experienced.     She 
requested  me  to  secure  bail,  which  I  did;  but  before  she  could 
reach  London,  she  was  arrested  at  Greenock  on  Dec.  2,  and 
her  boxes  were  seized,  and  private  papers,  including  the  agree- 
ment ;  which  papers  have  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  prose- 


298  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

cution.  Mrs.  Fletcher  informed  me  that  she  had  sent  copies 
of  a  Boston- daily  paper,  a  copy  of  which  was  also  forwarded 
to  me,  notifying  her  intention  of  sailing  by  the  steamship 
1  Anchoria,'  to  both  Mis.  Hart-Davies  and  James  McGeary." 

Miss  Gay  is  a  lady  whose  social  position,  character, 
and  talents  add  value  to  her  firm  and  unvarying  friend- 
ship ;  and  I  owe  much  to  her  unwearied  exertions  to 
set  this  matter  before  the  public  in  its  proper  light, 
especially  for  printing  and  circulating  at  her  own  ex- 
pense an  edition  of  Dr.  Nichols's  memorial. 

Mrs.  Frances  Maltby,  so  well  known  for  her  fidelity 
and  zeal  to  all  London  Spiritualists,  and  who  kindly 
took  charge  of  our  house  in  our  absence,  makes  the 
following  statement :  — 

"  On  Oct.  19,  1880,  in  my  temporary  absence  from  22  Gor- 
don Street,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  and  James  McGeary  entered  the 
house,  and  on  my  return  I  found  them  and  Mr.  S.  B.  Abra- 
hams in  possession  of  it.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  ransacked  the 
house,  opening  all  drawers,  boxes,  and  desks,  and  searched 
a  private  desk  belonging  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  removed  letters 
from  it.  The  cellar-door  was  forcibly  burst  open,  and  the 
house  left  in  confusion,  and  the  property  was  conveyed  to 
the  Bedford  Pantechnicon.  A  few  days  subsequently  we  heard 
from  a  person  sent  from  Mr.  Abrabams's  office,  that  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  threatened  to  arrest  Mr-s.  Fletcher,  to  whom  notice  was 
at  once  given." 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  299 

Miss  Agnes  Maltby,  testifying  to  the  same  facts  of 
the  invasion  of  the  house  and  seizure  of  the  property, 

says,  — 

"A  few  muslin  curtains,  etc.,  were  found  under  the  mat- 
tress in  her  own  room,  which  had  been  placed  there  for  con- 
venience. I  saw  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  search  the  private  desk 
of  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  remove  letters  from  it.  Miss  Gay  had 
arranged  the  desk  in  my  presence,  and  all  the  letters  were 
addressed  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher.  While  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
was  in  Mrs.  Fletcher's  room,  I  overheard  James  McGeary  ask 
her  if  she  had  looked  for  letters  and  papers,  alluding  to  letters 
which  she  was  selecting  from  boxes  on  the  table.  After  she 
had  left,  I  noticed  letters  had  disappeared  from  behind  the 
mirrors,  etc.,  where  they  had  been  placed.  On  the  trial  I 
heard  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  deny  on  oath  that  she  had  even  seen 
any  letters.  Tbe  cellar-door  was  forcibly  burst  open,  and  the 
house  completely  ransacked.  After  this  we  heard  that  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  threatened  to  arrest  Mrs.  Fletcher,  who  was  at 
once  informed  of  her  intention,  and  returned  to  London,  as 
stated  in  letters  received  from  her  by  us,  with  the  hope  of 
obtaining  justice  and  a  fair  hearing  of  the  case." 

My  faithful  and  intelligent  servant,  Ellen  Partridge, 
says,  — 

"I,  Ellen  Partridge,  now  residing  at  22  Gordon  Street, 
entered  the  service  of  Mrs.  Fletcher  in  1879.  One  day,  so  far 
as  I  can  recollect  in  the  month  of  August  in  that  year,  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  came  to  the  house  with  only  her  hat  on,  and  with 
her  dress  torn,  in  an  excited  and  trembling  condition.    She 


300  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

begged  to  see  Mrs.  Fletcher;  and  I  conducted  her  to  the  draw- 
ing-room, when  she  told  me  her  husband  had  been  threatening 
to  put  her  into  a  lunatic-asylum,  and  had  tried  to  poison  her. 
[Denied  on  oath  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  on  the  trial]  Mrs. 
Fletcher  saw  her.  I  mentioned  these  statements  to  a  fellow- 
servant,  who  can  state  that  I  did  so  at  the  time. 

"I  remember  many  letters  arriving  from  France  while  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  was  in  Tours;  and  I  placed  some  of  them  behind 
the  mirrors  in  Mrs.  Fletcher's  bedroom,  and  in  boxes  on  her 
table. 

"  Three  or  four  days  before  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  left  for 
America,  I  saw  Mrs.  Fletcher  with  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  in  her 
bedroom;  and  both  were  looking  over  the  jewelry.  I  heard 
Mrs.  Fletcher  propose  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  that  she  [Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies]  should  take  charge  of  it  herself;  which  she  refused  to 
do,  saying,  that,  if  she  wanted  any  of  it,  she  could  have  it, 
as  Mrs.  Fletcher  would  have  the  jewels  with  her.  " 

The  statements  of  these  witnesses  were  carefully 
taken  down  by  my  solicitor,  and  the  witnesses  were 
in  court  ready  to  give  testimony.  I  do  not  know  why 
they  were  not  called,  as  well  as  Mr.  Bastian  and  Mr. 
Eglinton. 

Mr.  Bastian  is,  like  myself,  an  American,  and  well 
known  over  Europe.  Born  in  Alsace,  he  speaks  Ger- 
man as  well  as  English,  and  has  spent  much  time  in 
Germany  and  Austria,  where  he  has  introduced  the 
subject  of  Spiritualism  among  the  highest  nobility. 

Mr.  Bastian  says,  — 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  301 

To  whom  it  may  CONCERN.  —  I,  Harry  Bastian  of  Chicago, 
111.,  at  present  residing  at  32  Fopstone  Road,  South  Kensing- 
ton, make  this  declaration:  — 

In  the  month  of  October,  1880,  Mrs.  Juliet  Anne  Theodora 
Hart-Davies  called  upon  me  at  my  then  lodgings,  No:  2  Vernon 
Place,  Bloomsbury,  saying  she  had  heard  about  me  in  Amer- 
ica, and  asked  me  if  I  was  acquainted  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J. 
W.  Fletcher.  I  said  I  knew  them  by  reputation.  She  asked  if 
I  had  heard  of  the  trouble  she  had  had  with  them  in  America. 
I  replied  that  I  had  read  about  it  in  the  papers,  and  asked 
her  how  she  came  to  give  them  her  property.  She  said  that 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  had  been  very  kind  to  her,  and  that  she 
had  loved  them,  and  gave  them  her  clothes,  lace,  and  jewels  in 
consideration  of  having  a  home  with  them.  She  said,  further, 
that  her  husband,  Mr.  Hart-Davies,  was  intemperate,  and  abu- 
sive to  her;  that  he  was  pawning  or  selling  her  jewels,  and 
had  threatened  to  put  her  into  a  lunatic-asylum,  and  also  to 
take  her  life.  Therefore  she  had  gone  to  live  with  the  Fletch- 
ers, and  given  them  her  property. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  further  said,  they  (the  Fletchers  and  her 
self)  had  lived  amicably  together  until  they  went  together  to 
America,  where  she  met  with  James  McGeary,  alias  Dr.  Mack, 
and  other  persons,  who  told  her  that  the  Fletchers  were  not 
what  she  supposed  them  to  be,  and  advised  her  to  get  back 
her  property,  which  was  surrendered  to  her;  she,  in  the  set- 
tlement, giving  to  Mrs.  Fletcher  certain  things  to  pay  for  her 
board,  passage,  and  expenses  in  America.  Then  she  returned 
to  London,  and  went  to  22  Gordon  Street,  and  got  the  rest  of 
her  property.  After  this,  Mr.  W.  H.  Harrison  and  others 
advised  her  to  prosecute  the  Fletchers  on  the  ground  that  it 
would  be  a  benefit  to  Spiritualism  to  get  rid  of  them  and 
have  them  punished;  but  she  said  that  she  did    not  wish  to 


302  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

do  them  any  harm,  and  did  not  know  what  to  do  about  it. 
As  I  was  about  leaving  England  for  the  Continent,  she  asked 
me  to  call  on  my  return  upon  her.  I  saw  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
next  when  she  appeared  against  Mrs.  Fletcher  at  Bow  Street; 
and  she  asked  me  to  visit  her  at  her  lodgings  in  Upper  Baker 
Street,  which  I  did,  when  she  said  that  those  who  were  inter- 
ested in  the  prosecution  of  Mrs.  Fletcher,  fearing  she  would 
drop  the  case,  had  got  the  public  prosecutor  to  take  it  up. 

(Signed) 

HARRY  BASTIAN. 

Mr.  W.  Eglinton,  an  English  Spiritualist  medium, 
who  is  well  known  in  the  highest  Spiritualist  circles 
of  England,  Germany,  Austria,  America,  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  India,  and  esteemed  by  those  who 
know  him  as  most  truthful  and  honorable,  makes  the 
following  declaration :  — 

I,  William  Eglinton,  residing  at  32  Fopstone  Road,  South 
Kensington,  am  ready  to  swear  to  the  following  facts;  viz., 
that  in  the  month  of  June,  1S80,  I  called  at  the  residence  of 
Mr.  J.  W.  Fletcher,  22  Gordon  Street,  Gordon  Square,  and 
was  introduced  to  Mrs.  Heurtlcy,  whom  I  have  since  known  as 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies.  In  conversation  with  her  she  was  enthu- 
siastic in  her  praise  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  for  their  kindness 
to  her;  and,  though  I  was  up  to  that  time  an  entire  stranger  to 
her,  she  informed  me,  that;  in  gratitude  to  them,  she  had  de- 
cided to  permanently  reside  with  them,  and,  to  compensate 
them,  was  going  to  will  them  all  her  property,  though  she 
could  never  fully  repay  their  kindness.  She  also  spoke  in  the 
most  affectionate  manner  of  Capt.  landmark,  —  with  whose 
brother  I  had  become  acquainted  in  Stockholm,  Sweden,  —  and 


THE   OTHER   SIDE.  803 

declared  that  he  was  the  only  man  that  she  could  ever  love 

and  respect.     This  was  my  only  interview  with  Mrs.  Heurtley 

alias  Hart-Davies,  until  I  saw  her  prosecuting  Mrs.  Fletcher 

at  the  police-office  in  Bow  Street. 

(Signed) 

WILLIAM   EGLINTON. 

People  who  hold  that  every  Spiritualist  must  neces- 
sarily be  either  a  knave  or  a  fool  may  not  place  re- 
liance on  the  testimony  of  witnesses  who  are  avowed 
Spiritualists  ;  but  as  the  same  might  be  said  of  persons 
holding  any  religious  doctrine,  by  its  opponents,  and 
as  we  know  that  persons  of  every  creed,  and  of  no 
creed,  may  be  honest  and  truthful,  I  do  not  see  any 
good  ground  for  rejecting  the  testimony  of  Spiritual- 
ists, more  than  that  of,  say,  Swedenborgians,  or  San- 
demanians. 

I  have  given  somewhat  of  "the  other  side,"  which 
I  think  ought  to  have  been  heard  in  what  was  called 
my  trial.  But  surely  that  is  not  a  trial  in  which 
really  but  one  witness  was  heard. 

Above  all,  I  think  the  testimony  to  the  reality  of 
Spiritualism  should  have  been  given.  The  whole  case 
turned  upon  two  facts,  —  the  existence  of  spirits,  and 
their  power  to  communicate  with  mortals.  To  prove 
false  pretences  against  me,  it  was  necessary  to  prove, 
either  that  the  spirit  of  Mrs.  Heurtley  did  not  exist, 
or  that,  if  existing,  she  had  no  power  to  communicate 


304  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN    PRISON. 

with  her  child,  or  that  I  could  not  be  the  medium  of 
such  a  communication.  No  such  proof  was  given.  I 
was  not  convicted :  I  was  simply  outlawed,  condemned 
without  a  hearing,  sentenced  to  a  year's  imprisonment, 
and  abused  by  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  and  the  whole 
pack  of  his  echoes  in  the  newspapers,  for  being  a 
Spiritualist. 

This  state  of  things  cannot  last  long.  As  one  of 
my  friends  has  said,  — • 

"Spiritualists  are  too  numerous  to  be  outlawed;  and  there 
are  among  them  so  many  persons  of  high  ability  and  position, 
that  their  rights  must  be  respected.  In  a  recent  will-case  in 
Chicago,  Judge  Tuley,  two  of  whose  four  colleagues  on  the 
bench  were  pronounced  Spiritualists,  ruled  that  belief  in  Spir- 
itualism is  no  evidence  of  insanity. 

"'Prominent  men,'  he  said,  'in  various  professions,  whose  integrity, 
intellectual  ability,  and  perfect  sanity  would  not  be  questioned,  had  testified 
that  they  had  seen  spirits,  had  had  communications  with  departed  friends, 
and  generally  that  they  believed  in  the  same  spiritual  phemomena  as  Col 
Cufhman  did.  Such  phenomena  could  not  now  be  dismissed,  as  in  the  case 
of  Lyon  »«.  Home,  with  the  remark  that  they  were  "  mischievous  nonsense." 
It  was  a  notorious  fact,  that  men  who  stood  high  in  science,  judges  who 
adorned  the  bench,  attorneys  and  solicitors  amongst  the  foremost  at  the  bar, 
clergymen,  physicians,  literary  men  of  the  highest  ability,  and,  in  effect, 
persons  of  prominence  in  every  walk  and  profession  of  life,  honestly  believed 
in  the  truth  of  such  phenomena;  and  it  would  be  the  sheerest  nonsense  to 
hold  that  such  belief  was  any  evidence  of  an  unsound  mind.' 

"Quite  recently  the  Rev.  J.  Page  Hopps,  a  well-known 
Unitarian  clergyman  of  Leicester,  taking  the  chair  at  a  Spir- 
itualist lecture,  said,  — 


THE   OTHER    SIDE.  305 

"'Hundreds  of  thousands  of  persons,  one  might  safely  say  millions  of 
persons,  in  all  circles  of  society,  — in  America,  in  India,  in  Africa,  in  China, 
in  Australia,  in  Russia,  in  France,  in  Germany,  in  Italy,  in  England,  — sol- 
emnly and  pertinaciously  declare  that  spirit-communion  is  a  reality.  Pro- 
fessors of  science  in  universities,  and  mechanics  at  the  bench,  clergymen 
and  colliers,  statesmen  and  shopkeepers,  poets  and  porters,  titled  ladies  and 
seamstresses,  artists  and  hard  matter-of-fact  manufacturers,  in  all  parts  of 
the  world,  hold  to  the  belief  of  spirit-communion.  Horace  Greeley  was  a 
believer  in  spirit-communion,  so  was  Lloyd  Garrison,  so  was  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, so  was  John  Pierpont,  so  was  George  Thompson,  Robert  Chambers, 
Archbishop  Whately,  and  William  Howitt.  So,  it  is  believed,  were  Lord 
Lytton  and  \Y.  M.  Thackeray.  So,  I  believe,  is  the  poet  Longfellow.  So  are 
men  like  Professors  Scheibuer,  Weber,  Hoffman,  Zdllner,  and  FeChner  in 
the  universities  of  Germany,  Butleroff  and  Wagner  in  the  university  of  St. 
Petersburg,  and  many  men  like  our  own  Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  William 
Crookes,  C.  S.  Varley,  S.  C.  Hall,  T.  L.  Nichols,  Professor  Barrett,  and  Lord 
Lindsay.'  But,  after  all,  these  more  modern  men  only  echo  what  has  beeu 
affirmed  from  the  days  of  Plutarch,  Tertullian,  and  St.  Augustine,  to  the 
days  of  Lord  Bacon,  Thomas  More,  and  John  Wesley.  There  is,  besides,  a 
varied,  important,  and  cultured  literature  on  the  subject,  with  a  mass  of 
evidence  that  is  positively  overwhelming,  whether  from  a  scientific,  personal, 
or  religious  point  of  view.  It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  that  we  6hall  do  well 
to  give  a  respectful  hearing  to  any  intelligent  person  who  declares  that  he 
also  has  investigated,  and  is  convinced  that  this  thing  is  true.'  " 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  my  tiresome  case,  there 
is  one  point  on  which  I  think  more  evidence  ought  to 
be  given.  In  her  evidence  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  declared 
her  belief  in  Spiritualism;  but  later  she  "fenced" 
with  the  question,  and  allowed  the  prosecution  to  rep- 
resent her  as  a  new  convert,  innocent  and  deluded. 
Her  most  intimate  friend,  next  to  Dr.  Mack,  Mr.  W. 
H.  Harrison,  editor  of  the  late  "Spiritualist"  (news- 
paper), has  given  plenty  of  evidence  that  Mrs.  Hart- 


306  TWELVE  MONTHS   IX   PRISON. 

Davies  was  an  old  and  advanced  Spiritualist.  In 
"  Ps3'cbe,"  a  magazine  of  which  a  few  numbers  were 
published  as  a  monthly  continuation  of  the  defunct 
"  Spiritualist,"  he  published  in  May,  1882,  some  ex- 
tracts from  a  private  letter  from  "  Mrs.  Heurtley,"  as 
she  then  chose  to  call  herself.     She  says,  — 

"  Our  father  was  reserved,  and  somewhat  unapproachable 
by  young,  timid  natures;  but  of  our  mother!  —  what  shall  I  say 
to  convey  even  a  faint  idea  of  the  majestic  beauty  of  her  mind 
and  character  ?  She  was  much  occupied  in  the  duties  involved 
by  her  influence  over  a  brilliant  and  intellectual  society.  .  .  . 
Allowed  no  companions,  I  had  full  opportunities  for  cultivat- 
ing my  innate  desire  for  sequestered  meditation.  The  inner 
consciousness  of  being  often  surrounded  by  a  particular  '  pres- 
ence,' as  I  called  it,  grew  with  my  growth.  In  my  ignorance 
I  knew  not  what  it  was,  but  dared  to  venture  to  believe  for 
myself  that  invisible  and  intelligent  witnesses  were  around  us, 
and  I  supposed  they  might  be  ethereal  'angel  guardians.'  .  .  . 
All  this  time  I  knew  nothing  of  Spiritualistic  teachings  When 
my  mother  died,  I  was  abroad.  Then  came  to  me  her  visible 
'presence ;'  and,  although  quite  awake,  yet  I  found  myself  by 
her  side  somehow,  and  in  a  lovely  garden  lighted  neither  by 
sun  nor  moon  nor  stars,  and  the  light  was  softly  bright,  mak- 
ing the  foliage  and  flowers  to  shine  like  gems.  I  heard  her  tell 
me,  l  My  child,  they  will  tell  you  I  am  dead ;  but  it  is  not  so. 
I  thought  I  had  died,  but  found  myself  gazing  on  my  own 
dead  body,  and  still  that  I  was  more  alive  than  ever.  .  .  .  Tell 
every  one  that  there  is  no  death  —  only  change.'  Imagine  the 
effect  of  these  words  upon  one  who  had  so  long  sought  for  an 
assurance,  beyond  that  derived  from  mere  tradition,  of  this  all- 


THE   OTHER    SIDE.  307 

satisfying  fact.  And  it  was  this  incident  that  turned  my  atten- 
tion to  Cahaynet's  works,  and  subsequently  to  hearken  to  the 
trance-messages  given  through  Fletcher's  remarkable  medium- 
ship.  .  .  .  Thus  you  may,  perhaps,  be  enabled  to  comprehend 
easier  the  real,  unselfish  motive  for  my  extreme  eagerness  at 
catching  hold  of  the  first  examples  of  practical  'Spiritualistic' 
teachings  presented  to  me.  Amid  a  thousand  other  misconcep- 
tions of  my  character,  actions,  and  motives,  which  have  been 
industriously  spread  abroad,  is  that  of  my  having  '  suddenly 
rushed  into  Spiritualism,'  'caught'  by  a  few  spirit-messages, 
and  a  few  fawning  promises  of  encouraging  aid  in  my  re- 
searches. .  .  .  Personally  I  bear  no  resentful  feeling  against 
the  Fletchers,  though  they  only  know  how  deeply  they  have 
sinned  against  her  who  desired  only  to  have  been  their  bene- 
factress." 


This  letter  was  written  in  March,  1882,  near  the  end 
of  my  imprisonment.  It  settles  the  question  about  her 
having  been  a  Spiritualist  long  before  we  ever  saw 
her,  and  her  desire  to  be  our  "benefactress." 

Jan.  27,  1882,  Mr.  Harrison,  editor  of  the  "  Spiritu- 
alist," in  an  article  headed  "The  Shadow  of  a  Great 
Crime,"  again  implored  Spiritualists  to  take  up  the 
cause  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies.     He  says,  — 

"  A   joyous   and  enthusiastic  new  convert,   out  of  an  all-  ■ 
absorbing  love  for  her  departed  mother,  strove  in  an  inexperi- 
enced  and    ineffectual  way  to   do  material   good   beyond   all 
precedent  to  Spiritualism,  and  was  then  swindled,  and  treated 
in  the  most  abominable  manner." 


308  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

This  enthusiastic  new  convert,  who  had  been,  accord- 
ing to  her  own  story,  published  in  Mr.  Harrison's  own 
paper,  a  Spiritualist  and  medium  from  her  childhood, 
wished  u  to  do  a  material  good  beyond  all  precedent 
to  Spiritualism"  by  joining  us,  and  sharing  with  us 
her  mother's  wardrobe,  while  we,  in  return,  were  to 
give  her  a  home  for  life. 

11  The  very  head  and  front  of  my  offending 
Hath  this  extent,  no  more." 

The  crime  for  which  I  was  one  year  in  prison,  Mr. 
Justice  Hawkins  said,  was  consummated  when  the  first 
jewel,  the  poor  little  amethyst  brooch,  was  placed  in 
my  hand  by  this  "  joyous  and  enthusiastic  new  con- 
vert," who  complained  that  her  drunken  husband  had 
beaten  her,  was  robbing  her,  had  tried  to  poison  her 
and  put  her  in  a  lunatic-asylum,  and  urged  that  it 
be  accepted  as  some  liquidation  of  the  debt  due  my 
husband.  Under  these  circumstances  if  her  story  was 
true,  or  under  these  false  pretences  if  not  true,  she 
sought  our  protection,  and  volunteered  to  aid  us  in  our 
work.  We  were  imprudent  if  you  please ;  unfortu- 
nate, as  we  saw  too  soon  :  but  in  what  way  were  we 
criminals  ? 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

SOME   COMMENTS    ON   THE   CASE. 

I  do  not  wish  to  weary  my  readers  ;  but,  before 
beginning  the  story  of  my  imprisonment,  I  wish  to  give 
a  few  comments  on  the  case,  such  as  I  might  have  ad- 
dressed to  the  jury,  had  the  present  mode  of  procedure 
been  adopted  a  little  earlier.  The  right  of  a  prisoner 
to  tell  his  own  story  to  the  jury  had  always  existed, 
always  been  lawful ;  but  the  judges,  who  are  first  law- 
yers, and  mindful  of  the  interests  of  the  craft,  had  set 
it  aside.  I  am  glad  that  they  have  at  last  restored  the 
exercise  of  this  right,  so  long  desired  —  only  it  came, 
for  me,  a  little  too  late. 

First,  of  the  accusation  at  Bow  Street,  when  Mr. 
Abrahams  had  his  opportunity  to  libel  me,  and  by  a 
series  of  utterly  false  statements,  reproduced  in  the 
newspapers,  so  deeply  prejudiced  the  public  against 
me  —  as  if  a  libel  uttered  in  a  police-court,  and  printed 
in  a  newspaper  report,  were  not  as  great  a  wrong, 
and  as  deep  an  injury,  as  any  other  libel !  A  false 
witness  may  be  prosecuted  for  perjury.     A  lawyer  may 

309 


310  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

tell  a  series  of  horrible  falsehoods,  and  have  them  pub- 
lished all  over  the  world,  to  the  utter  destruction  of 
character,  busiuess,  and  prospects,  with  entire  impu- 
nity.    Surely  this  is  a  hideous  wrong. 

Mr.  Abrahams  said  Mrs.  Hart-Davies's  separation 
from  her  husband  had  no  reference  to  the  case.  The 
reader  has  seen  that  the  conduct  which  she  said  was 
the  cause  of  the  separation  induced  her  to  seek  our 
protection. 

The  falsity  of  the  story  about  the  mother's  jewels 
being  dangerous  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  she  continued  to  wear  them,  and  was  never 
without  them.  Mr.  Abrahams  declared  that  I  had 
broken  open  her  boxes,  and  stolen  valuable  velvets  and 
laces.  The  fact  was,  that  she  and  I  unpacked  and  re- 
packed together,  after  the  things  had  been  forced  upon 
me  by  the  deed  of  gift.  The  "Oriental  pearls"  on 
which  such  stress  was  laid,  and  which  I  was  charged 
with  stealing,  after  they  had  been  formally  given  to 
me,  were  found  by  Mr.  Shrive  the  detective  at  the  Pan- 
technicon, where  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  stored  them. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  represented  to  be  her  mother's 
administratrix.  But  her  mother  left  no  will :  she  was 
not  the  sister  of  Mr.  Sampson ;  it  was  shown  that 
her  relation  to  that  gentleman  was  of  quite  a  different 
nature.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  swore  that  the  property 
left  her  by  her  mother  was  under  one  hundred  pounds : 


SOME   COMMENTS    ON   THE   CASE.  311 

after  it  was  in  my  possession,  she  claimed  that  its  value 
was  fifty  thousand  dollars.  This  fraudulent  under-valu- 
ation  was  sworn  to  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the 
legacy  or  succession  duty.  In  court  she  testified  that 
the  property  had  been  given  to  her  before  her  mother's 
death. 

All  the  matter  of  the  will,  and  the  "deed  after 
deed,"  in  Mr.  Abrahams's  statement,  is  disposed  of  by 
the  testimon}'  of  Mr.  Morton,  and  the  London  solicitor, 
Mr.  Francis,  to  whom  Mr.  Morton  introduced  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  when  she  wished  to  make  her  benefaction 
to  "  Spiritualism  in  its  higher  phases." 

The  charge  of  our  attempting  to  poison  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies,  and  that  of  some  mysterious  connection  with 
"  free-love  "  doctrines,  made  by  Mr.  Abrahams,  were 
quietly  dropped  out  of  the  case  by  the  government 
prosecutors,  and  were  evidently  introduced  to  prejudice 
the  magistrate  and  the  public  against  us. 

Mr.  Morton  was  convicted  of  conspiring  with  us,  or 
I  with  him  and  my  husband.  But  let  me  ask  in  pass- 
ing, if  he  had  been  engaged  in  a  criminal  attempt  to 
rob  this  unprotected  woman,  would  he  have  taken  her 
to  a  firm  of  most  respectable  London  solicitors,  that 
she  might  be  guided  by  their  advice  as  to  the  disposi- 
tion she  should  make  of  what  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins 
ruled  was  her  husband's  property? 

If  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  on  coming  to  our  house,  was 


312  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN    PRISON. 

"  treated  with  indignity,"  and  "  almost  starved,"  and 
"  felt  very  weak  and  ill  after  drinking  her  morning 
coffee,"  why  did  she  go  with  ns  to  America?  The 
fact  is,  that  she  had  five  meals  a  day,  and  always 
extra  provisions  in  her  own  room. 

I  have  said  enough,  perhaps,  of  Mr.  Abrahams ;  but 
I  cannot  doubt  that  the  utterly  false  coloring  he  gave 
to  the  case  created  a  prejudice  which  made  a  fair  trial 
and  a  just  verdict  impossible. 

The  testimony  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  full  of  what 
Lord  Sherborne  calls  "  slatternly  inaccuracies."  Even 
on  trifling  and  unimportant  matters  she  seemed  to 
choose  the  opposite  of  truth. 

It  was  said  that  when  we  went  to  America  we  had 
no  intention  of  returning.  What  were  the  facts  ?  We 
left  our  house  in  charge  of  a  friend  and  the  servants, 
with  all  the  furniture, — that  which  had  belonged  to 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  our  own.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies 
swore  that  I  took  eight  trunks  ;  but  there  were  only 
six  in  all,  of  which  two  were  hers,  one  Mr.  Fletcher's, 
one  my  son's,  and  two  my  own.  We  had  engaged 
Steinway  Hall  for  the  winter,  and  made  all  our  arrange- 
ments to  return  in  the  autumn. 

^  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  admitted,  that,  when  she  ran- 
sacked my  house  with  Dr.  Mack  and  Mr.  Abrahams, 
she  "might  have  accidentally  removed  a  few  of  my 
things  with  her  own."     When  I  went  to  the  Pantech- 


SOME   COMMENTS    ON   THE   CASE.  313 

nicon,  with  a  clerk  of  the  solicitors  of  the  treasury, 
and  looked  over  the  things,  I  found  so  many  articles  of 
my  own  property,  that  the  inventory  covered  several 
sheets,  and  among  them  private  papers  which  she  swore 
she  had  never  taken.  She  made  much  of  finding  some 
of  her  things  between  the  mattresses.  The  articles 
she  found  were  a  few  cotton  dresses  and  curtains, 
placed  between  the  spring  and  mattress  in  her  own 
bedroom,  and  placed  there  at  her  own  suggestion. 

But  the  letters  read  in  court  ?  —  what  have  you  to 
say  to  them? 

I  have  to  say,  that,  had  the  letters  on  both  sides 
been  read,  one  set  would  have  fully  explained  the 
other.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  took  very  good  care  that  her 
letters  should  not  be  produced  in  court. 

What  did  these  letters  prove,  beyond  our  friendly 
feelings,  when  every  letter  produced  was  written  after 
the  deed  of  gift  and  her  icill  had  been  made,  and  all 
the  property  to  which  they  related  had  been  placed  in 
our  hands  for  safe  keeping,  with,  as  she  stated,  "  the 
honorable  understanding  that  it  should  be  returned  to 
her  whenever  she  should  demand  it?  "     And  it  was. 

The  transaction  having  been  completed,  what  had 
the  letters  which  passed  between  us  subsequently  to 
do  with  proof  of  fraud  or  false  pretences  ?  It  was  the 
same  as  if  they  had  been  written  ten  years  afterward. 

And  it  is  to  be  observed,  that,  when  this  property 


314  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

was   in   our  possession,  it  so  remained.     It  was  not 

shown  that  any  jewel,  or  any  article  of  any  kind,  was 
ever  sold,  or  in  any  way  disposed  of.  Is  this  the 
fashion  of  swindlers  and  thieves?  In  America  the 
jewels  were  placed  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  with  the  concur- 
rence of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  in  safe  keeping.  When 
she  demanded  them,  he  gave  her  an  order  to  get  them. 
I  ask  again,  Are  these  the  proceedings  of  swindlers 
and  thieves? 

If  I  complain  of  the  introduction  of  private  letters 
on  one  side,  written  after  the  acts  indicted  as  fraudu- 
lent, what  is  to  be  said  of  my  photograph,  commented 
upon  by  the  judge,  and  given  to  the  jury?  If  it  was  as 
a  study  of  physiognomy,  they  had  me  before  them  for 
six  days,  and  had  ample  opportunity  to  see  if  I  looked 
like  a  thief,  a  witch,  or  a  sorceress.  What  proof  could 
a  photograph,  taken  either  before  or  after  a  crime,  be 
of  the  guilt  of  a  prisoner?  There  was  no  question  of 
identity.  I  had  not  denied  my  name  or  profession. 
Then  how  came  my  photograph  to  be  given  as  evidence 
against  me,  and  commented  upon  in  a  way  to  create 
more  prejudice  in  the  public  mind,  perhaps,  than  any 
fact  or  fiction  during  the  trial?  As  it  ivas  not  shown, 
it  was  assumed  to  be  something  very  dreadful. 

What  was  this  terrible  photograph  ?  One  day  I  went 
with  my  husband  to  one  of  the  best  London  photog- 
raphers, and  was  pictured  in  a  low  muslin  waist.    All 


SOME   COMMENTS   ON   THE   CASE.  315 

ladies  are  required  to  wear  low  dresses  at  her  Majes- 
ty's drawing-rooms;  and,  in  their  progress  through  St. 
James's  Park  to  Buckingham  Palace,  they  are  exposed 
to  the  gaze  of  the  public  with  very  little  covering,  and 
many  remarks.  This  photograph,  taken  fur  my  hus- 
band, and  kept  by  him,  was  stolen  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies, 
—  it  being  among  the  papers  she  found  in  our  house 
in  Gordon  Street  during  our  absence  in  America.  Mr. 
Abrahams  thought  proper  to  introduce  it  as  evidence 
against  me  at  Bow  Street,  where  he  passed  it  through 
the  court-room ;  and  Sir  Hemy  Hawkins  handed  it  to 
the  jury  at  the  Old  Bailey. 

There  are  always  differences  of  taste  and  opinion  as 
to  fashions  of  dress.  Quakeresses  cannot  be  presented 
at  court.  Fastidious  people  do  not  like  the  low 
dresses  worn  at  dinners,  balls,  and  generally  for  what 
is  called  full  or  evening  dress.  I  do  not  care  to  defend 
the  fashions  of  society,  or  the  taste  of  either  my  hus- 
band or  the  photographer ;  though  the  latter  assured 
me  that  he  had  taken  photographs  of  many  very  ele- 
gant and  fashionable  ladies,  among  whom  were  wives 
of  aldermen  who  assisted  at  my  trial,  more  decolletees 
than  mine.  I  have  only  to  say,  that  it  was  a  private 
keepsake  for  my  husband,  not  intended  to  be  shown, 
not  more  scandalous  than  may  be  seen  at  dinners, 
balls,  the  opera,  and  the  -Queen's  drawing-rooms,  and 
that  it  had  nothing  to  do  with  my  guilt  or  innocence  in 
any  way  whatever. 


316  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

It  was  pretended  that  I  was  photographed  in  some 
of  the  jewels  said  to  have  been  obtained  by  false  pre- 
tences. There  are  no  jewels  in  the  photograph  but 
a  small  pendant  and  ear-rings,  and  a  single  string  of 
pearls,  which  I  had  long  before  I  ever  saw  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies. 

Showing  a  photograph,  and  talking  about  it,  to  pre- 
judice the  public  against  me,  was  of  a  piece  with  the 
whole  trial.  It  was  probably  introduced  to  sustain 
the  ninth  count  of  that  long  indictment,  which  charged 
that  I  pretended  to  exercise  witchcraft,  sorcery,  etc. 
Had  I  been  on  my  trial  for  murder,  or  the  attempt  to 
murder,  as  at  first  charged  by  Mr.  Abrahams,  would 
my  photograph  in  a  low-necked  dress  have  been  given 
to  the  jury  as  a  proof  of  guilt?  Is  every  lady  who 
wears  on  any  occasion  a  low-necked  dress  a  swindler, 
and  a  possible  or  probable  murderess  ? 

Hereafter  I  shall  advise  ladies  to  be  photographed 
only  in  high-necked  dresses,  —  as  I  intended  to  be  on 
that  occasion,  —  and  to  wear  them,  as  I  always  do, 
wherever  the  customs  of  society  will  admit. 

The  indictment  assumed  the  impossibility  of  spirit- 
communications.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  swore,  on  the 
trial,  that  they  had  been  given  ;  though  she  solemnly 
assured  Mr.  Morton  that  she  had  not  been  influenced 
by  any  one,  spirit  or  mortal,  in  giving  us  her  property, 
but  only  wished  to  save  it  fronr  being  squandered  by 


SOME   COMMENTS   ON   THE   CASE.  317 

her  drunken  husband,  and  have  it  used  for  the  pro- 
motion of  Spiritualism. 

The  reader  who  has  had  the  patience  to  read  the 
trial,  especially  the  charge  of  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins, 
will  see  that  it  was  the  assumption  of  the  falsity  of 
Spiritualism,  and  the  truthfulness  of  the  only  witness 
against  me,  —  the  one  "on  whom  the  whole  fabric  of 
the  prosecution  rested,"  — that  secured  my  conviction, 
and  sent  me  to  the  prison  which  must  be  the  scene 
of  what  remains  of  my  story. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

HER    MAJESTY'S    PRISON,    WESTMINSTER. 

I  had  taken  leave  of  my  friends,  and  written  to 
those  I  could  not  see ;  because  I  knew,  that,  from  the 
moment  the  verdict  of  guilty  was  pronounced,  I  could 
not  speak  or  write.  In  saying  good-by  to  Dr.  Nichols, 
one  of  my  bail,  who  had  every  day  received  me  on  my 
arrival  at  the  court,  as  he  had  done  at  Bow  Street,  to 
give  me  his  arm,  and  conduct  me  to  the  prisoner's  dock 
and  from  it,  as  he  would  have  taken  me  to  my  box  or 
stall  at  the  opera,  I  said  to  him,  "  I  shall  be  convicted, 
and  the  next  time  you  see  me  it  will  be  in  a  prison. 
Do  nothing  for  me.  Do  every  thing  you  can  to  change 
the  laws  of  England,  so  that  in  future  there  may  be 
justice  for  Spiritualists." 

When  the  blow  fell  —  when,  after  waiting  more  than 
three  hours  and  a  half  for  the  verdict  that  was  not  in 
the  least  doubtful  to  me,  that  I  knew  would  come  —  I 
was  quite  prepared,  and  was  only  weary  from  waiting 
so  long.  I  showed  no  emotion,  for  I  felt  none.  There 
was  no  surprise,  and  I  rose  to  receive  my  sentence.  I 
318 


HER   MAJESTY'S    PRISON,    WESTMINSTER.     319 

heard  the  beginning  of  that  sentence,  but  not  the  end. 
There  came  over  me  a  sort  of  paralysis,  a  partial 
trance,  in  which  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  judge  like  a 
distant,  indistinct  murmur.  The  scolding  and  the  in- 
sults, so  far  as  I  was  concerned  at  the  time,  were  quite 
thrown  away. 

Two  female  warders  of  Newgate  stood  ready  to 
receive  me  ;  but  the  governor,  who  had  been  most  kind 
and  gentle  to  me,  said  to  them,  "You  go  away:  let 
me  take  her."  He  took  me  into  the  prison,  and  gave 
me  to  a  woman  there,  who  placed  me  in  the  cell  lately 
occupied  by  Mrs.  "Weld on,  —  a  large  double  cell,  very 
clean  and  comfortable.  The  female  warders  at  New- 
gate seemed  to  me  the  best  of  their  class. 

I  slept  that  night  in  Newgate,  and  was  allowed  to 
see  one  visitor.  Miss  Agnes  Maltbj',  who  brought 
flowers  to  me  at  Bow  Street,  and  wished  to  go  to 
prison  in  my  place,  walked  into  Newgate  so  deter- 
mined to  see  me,  that  the  governor  did  not  see  his  way 
to  refuse  her.  I  was  also  allowed  to  write  one  letter, 
which  was  read  by  the  inspector,  and  then  posted  to 
my  husband. 

While  this  passed  I  was  in  a  kind  of  maze,  much  as 
if  I  had  been  sitting  in  a  theatre,  and  seeing  a  play 
enacted  on  the  stage.  I  was  as  a  spectator  of  things 
done  and  endured  by  another. 

At  half-past  twelve  I  was  taken  in  a  cab  with  one 


320  TWELVE    MONTHS    IN    PRISON. 

of  the  warders,  instead  of  going  in  the  prison  omni- 
bus, the  kt  Black  Maria."  This  was,  I  believe,  a  very 
unusual  favor,  done  to  protect  me  from  contact  with 
other  prisoners.  A  male  officer  of  course  went  with 
me.  I  put  out  my  hands  for  the  handcuffs.  lie 
looked  at  them  a  moment,  and  put  the  implements 
into  his  pocket,  with  an  emphatic  "  No !  " 
"  Pray  make  no  difference  for  me,"  I  said. 
"  No.  I  will  not  put  them  on.  Of  course  you  will 
give  3Tour  word  to  make  no  trouble." 

"  Only  the  trouble  of  seeing  me  to  my  destination," 
I  said.  And  so  I  went,  free  of  the  shackles,  on  my 
parole. 

I  did  not  know  then  how  much  I  had  been  spared  by 
being  sent  in  a  cab  at  an  unusual  hour.  It  saved  me 
from  mingling  with  the  poor  unfortunates  gathered  from 
the  police-courts  ;  from  the  filtlry  horrors  of  the  recep- 
tion, when  all  wash  from  one  tank,  and  wipe  on  one 
towel,  and  the  poor  women,  wild  with  grief,  or  crazy 
with  delirium-tremens,  are  screaming  in  the  reception- 
cells. 

In  the  office,  my  clothes  were  taken,  neatly  folded 
and  put  away,  and  my  money,  watch,  and  such  jewels 
as  I  had,  were  registered,  and  safely  deposited.  The 
female  warders,  officers  as  they  are  called,  treated  me 
with  every  possible  consideration.  They  gave  me  the 
best  shoes  that  could  be  found,  selected  the  best  fitting 


HER   MAJESTY'S   PRISON,    WESTMINSTER.      321 

brown  serge  prison-dress  the}7  hud,  with  a  not  unbe- 
coming white  cap.  If  the  prison-costume  was  not  all 
that  could  be  desired,  m}-  friendly  officers  did  the  best 
they  could  for  me,  and  I  had  a  clean  suit  at  every 
fresh  supply.  The  stockings  are  blue  with  a  red 
stripe,  and  very  coarse.  The  shoes  are  made  low, 
with  very  thick  soles,  and  fit  as  it  may  happen.  There 
is  one  white  flannel  skirt,  and  a  flannel  under-vest  if 
the  prisoner  is  wearing  one  at  the  time  of  admission  ; 
but  there  are  no  drawers  (and  this  slight  addition 
would  prevent  much  suffering) ,  a  brown  serge  petti- 
coat, skirt,  and  jacket,  a  blue  check  handkerchief  to 
wear  under  the  jacket,  and  another  for  the  pocket 
(very  coarse  and  rough),  and  a  white  cotton  cap. 

At  the  reception-cell  I  was  visited  by  the  lady  super- 
intendent, the  Protestant  chaplain,  and  the  physician. 

They  were  all  polite  and  kind.  The  lady  superin- 
tendent expressed  her  regret  that  no  difference  could 
be  made  in  the  prison-diet.  She  could  make  no  excep- 
tions. I  told  her  I  did  not  expect  to  find  every  thing 
easy  or  agreeable. 

The  Protestant  chaplain,  finding  that  I  was  not  to  be 
placed  with  his  fold  or  his  branch,  had  very  little  to 
say  to  me. 

The  doctor  inspected  me,  and  asked  about  nry  health. 
He  wished  me  to  take  off  a  ring  I  had  not  been  able 
to  give  up  at  the  office,  it  fitted  so  tightly.  In  a  week 
it  came  off  very  easily. 


322  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  PKISON. 

After  this  ceremony  of  reception,  I  was  sent  to  my 
final  prison. 

Her  Majesty's  Prison,  Westminster,  now  set  apart 
for  female  convicts  not  sentenced  to  penal  servitude, 
is  in  what  used  to  be  called  Tothill  Fields,  south  of 
Victoria  Street,  between  Westminster  Abbey  and  the 
Houses  of  Parliament  on  the  east  and  the  Victoria 
Station  on  the  west.  A  wall  about  thirty  feet  high 
encloses  a  large  octagon.  In  its  centre  is  an  open 
space  with  grass  and  trees,  around  which  are  ranged 
the  prisons  and  offices.  A  great  double  iron  gate  on 
the  south  side  is  the  only  entrance. 

My  cell,  to  be  my  home  for  twelve  months,  was 
very  solidly  made  of  stone,  nine  or  ten  feet  long,  seven 
feet  wide,  with  walls  seven  feet  high,  and  arched  so  as 
to  make  the  roof  nine  feet  high  in  the  centre.  The 
window  is  of  thick  yellow  glass,  shaded  by  louvres. 
On  the  light  side  of  the  prison  these  windows  admit 
light  enough  to  read  by,  but  not  on  the  dark  side  ;  so 
that  half  the  cells  are  too  dark  for  reading,  and  of 
course  much  too  dark  to  be  healthy.  The  ventilation 
is  by  means  of  perforated  iron  in  the  wall  and  an 
opening  at  the  bottom  of  the  cell. 

My  bed  was  a  canvas  hammock,  six  feet  long  and 
thirty  inches  wide,  suspended  across  the  cell,  in  which 
one  has  to  lie  quite  straight,  and  be  very  careful  not 
to  tumble  out.     I  had  three  blankets,  two  white  and 


HER  MAJESTY'S   PRISON,   WESTMINSTER.      323 

one  colored,  which  are  supposed  to  be  washed  once  a 
year,  and  are  inherited  by  a  succession  of  short-term 
prisoners  ;  and  I  had  also  a  pair  of  sheets  and  a  case 
for  my  sawdust  pillow,  which  were  washed  once  a 
month.     There  was  no  mattress. 

In  winter  these  cells  are  very*cold  and  damp,  as 
well  as  dark.  The  air  is  warm  in  the  corridors  ;  but  its 
moisture  condenses  on  the  walls  of  the  cells,  and  runs 
down  upon  the  floor.  Sleeping  without  a  mattress, 
and  with  insufficient  covering,  prisoners  —  especially 
the  feeble,  the  old,  the  rheumatic,  and  those  debili- 
tated, as  most  are,  by  intemperate  habits  — have  dread- 
ful suffering.     The  healthiest  nearly  perish  of  cold. 

Of  course  they  are  sent  there  —  some  thousands  of 
women  every  year,  an  average  of  five  or  six  hundred 
at  a  time  —  to  be  punished,  but  not,  I  think,  to  have 
their  health  destroyed  by  being  kept  twenty-three  hours 
out  of  every  twenty-four  in  solitary  confinement  in 
dark,  cold,  damp  cells,  like  so  many  tombs.  I  cannot 
believe  that  it  is  "her  Majesty's  pleasure,"  if  it  is 
her  home  secretary's,  that  her  Majesty's  unfortunate, 
or  even  guilty,  female  subjects  should  be  so  cruelly 
treated. 

"Unfortunate  !  "  —  yes,  far  more  unfortunate,  the 
greater  part,  than  guilty.  Nine  in  ten,  and  I  think  a 
larger  proportion,  owe  their  imprisonment  solely  to 
drink   sold  to  them  by  respectable  men  licensed  by 


324  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

government,  and  so  employed  to  collect  the  revenue. 
The  government  tempts  these  poor  women  to  drink, 
pockets  a  large  part  of  the  mone}'  they  pay  for  their 
"liquid  damnation,"  and  then  shuts  them  up  in  this 
dark,  cold,  and  horrible  prison  to  get  sober,  and  then 
get  drunk  again ;  and  so  on,  until  they  sink  into  a  cell 
a  little  darker  and  narrower,  —  the  pauper's  grave. 

My  little,  dark,  cold  room  was  not  encumbered  by 
superfluous  furniture.  There  was  a  table  of  unpainted 
wood  about  twenty  inches  by  thirty,  a  box  to  sit  on 
twelve  inches  by  eighteen,  and  eighteen  inches  high, 
a  two-quart  tin  can  for  gruel,  a  three-quart  tin  to  hold 
my  daily  supply  of  water,  a  pint  tin  can  to  drink 
from,  a  tin  plate,  a  wooden  spoon,  and  a  tin  bucket 
for  slops  (without  a  cover) ,  a  coarse  and  fine  comb,  a 
tin  wash-basin,  a  towel  changed  once  a  week,  and  the 
rules  of  the  prison  in  French  and  English,  headed  in 
large  type,  "  Convicted  Prisoners,"  which  words  I 
was  so  tired  of  seeing,  that  I  turned  them  to  the  wall. 

Each  cell  has  a  Bible  and  a  prayer-book.  In  the 
Bible  I  read,  "  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me. 
.  .  .  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of 
these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  The 
rules  provide  that  each  well-behaved  prisoner  may 
receive  a  visit  once  in  three  months,  in  presence  of  a 
warder.  After  two  months,  if  a  prisoner  has  no  bad 
marks   against   her,  she   can   have   a   book  from  the 


HER  MAJESTY'S   PRISON,   WESTMINSTER.      325 

library,  —  a  volume  of  "The  Leisure  Hour,"  or  some 
moral  and  religious  book  suitable  for  female  prisoners. 
These  rewards  of  merit  can  be  changed  once  a  week, 
and  are  a  great  comfort  to  those  whose  cells  have  light 
enough  to  read  by. 

The  great  bell  of  the  .prison  wakes  its  five  hundred 
sleepers  at  six  a.m.  ;  and  all  must  be  dressed  to  receive 
their  officers  (warders) ,  who  unlock  the  cells  at  half- 
past  six,  when  all  pass  out  with  their  uncovered  slop- 
buckets  and  water-cans,  —  to  empty  the  former,  and 
fill  the  latter.  The  water-tank  and  place  for  emptying 
slops  are  together ;  and  fifty  women  of  one  division 
are  expected  to  get  back  to  their  cells  in  ten  minutes. 

At  eight  o'clock  comes  breakfast.  For  those  sent 
for  more  than  three  months,  there  is  a  pint  of  oatmeal 
gruel,  six  ounces  of  bread,  coarse  and  dark,  varying 
in  quality,  and  sometimes  sour  or  mould}7.  When  com- 
plaints are  made,  it  is  better,  and  when  well  made,  ac- 
cording to  regulation,  prison-bread,  coarse  and  brown, 
is  doubtless  more  healthful  than  the  fine  white  bread 
of  the  common  bakers. 

At  half-past  nine  a.m.  we  were  let  out  to  exercise  in 
the  yard  for  fifteen  minutes,  and  then  go  to  chapel  — 
Protestant,  or  Catholic,  as  we  are  registered —  for  half 
an  hour,  and  on  coming  out  were  marched  in  single 
file  round  the  yard  again  for  fifteen  minutes.  It  was 
a  curious  sight  to  see  this  regiment  of  women,  from 


326  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

eighty-five  years  old  to  twelve,  all  dressed  alike,  but 
looking  so  different,  —  a  regiment  composed  almost 
entirely  of  drunkards,  prostitutes,  thieves.  One  aged 
prisoner  had  with  her  her  daughter  and  grand-daughter, 
who,  she  proudly  said,  she  believed  were  without  ex- 
ception the  best  thieves  in  London,  because  she  had 
learned  it  "  scientific  "  herself,"  and  taught  them  the 
same  way.  Mrs.  McCarty  is  a  little  thin,  dried-up 
old  woman,  who  had  been  to  prison  sixty  times,  and 
five  times  during  that  year.  Women  are  often  released 
on  Thursday,  and  come  back  to  their  old  cells  again 
on  Saturday. 

Surety  the  "  wisdom  of  Parliament  "  might  contrive 
some  better  way  than  that.  Of  course  the  cause,  in 
nearly  all  such  cases,  is  drink ;  and  while  the  wisest 
and  best  government  keeps  an  open,  ever-flowing  foun- 
tain of  intoxicating  liquors  at  every  corner,  because  it 
extracts  an  enormous  revenue  from  those  least  able  to 
pay  it,  it  is  necessary  to  have  policemen  to  catch,  and 
great  prisons  to  confine,  those  who  so  vainly  pray, 
"  Lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil.''* 

Of  course  governments  must  have  money ;  but  is 
there  not  a  better  way  than  the  encouragement  of  vice 
in  order  that  it  may  be  taxed  to  pay  a  revenue?  And 
why  not  go  a  step  farther,  and  tax  a  few  other  vices, 
that  might  be  nearly  as  profitable  ?  But  I  fear  I  am 
diverging  into   politics,  with  which  women   have   no 


HER  MAJESTY'S   PRISON,   WESTMINSTER.      327 

business  —  except  to  suffer  whatever  masculine  legis- 
lation may  inflict. 

Pardon  this  digression.  At  twelve  o'clock  comes 
dinner,  —  a  dreadfully  unfashionable  hour  ;  but  Queen 
Elizabeth  dined  at  eleven.  On  Monday  each  prisoner 
who  is  not  on  the  bread-aud- water  fare  of  short-comers, 
or  in  the  bad-conduct  cells,  gets  three  potatoes  in  a  net, 
six  ounces  of  badly-cooked  beans,  and  generally  vile 
bacon,  and  six  ounces  of  bread.  The  only  eating- 
utensil  is  a  wooden  spoon  half  an  inch  thick,  with 
which  she  must  peel  her  potatoes,  and  divide  her  meat. 
But  I  remembered  with  no  little  consolation  that  her 
Majesty's  is  the  most  aristocratic  government  under 
heaven. 

On  Tuesdays  the  Right  Honorable  the  home  secre- 
tary provided  us  with  a  pint  of  very  bad  soup,  flavored 
with  cabbage,  looking  very  green,  and  smelling  very 
badly,  and  bread,  which  is  brought  in  great  baskets, 
emptied  upon  the  stones  in  the  3'ard,  counted,  and 
broken,  the  prisoners  meantime  walking  over  it.  This 
does  not  improve  the  appetite. 

On  Wednesdays  we  had  six  ounces  of  dark  suet- 
pudding  and  three  ounces  of  bread. 

On  Thursdays,  the  delightful  soup  again,  and  six 
ounces  of  bread. 

On  Fridays,  we  had  the  luxur}*  of  Australian  meat, 
specially  allotted  on  this   day  for  the  benefit  of  the 


328  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Roman-Catholic  prisoners  ;  the  government  following, 
in  this  matter,  the  edifying  example  of  the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  Cumming  of  Crown  Court,  who  collected  funds,  and 
instituted  one  meat-dinner  a  week  for  the  little  raga- 
muffins of  Clare  Market  and  Drury  Lane.  As  three- 
fourths  of  them  are  Papists,  he  gave  his  meat-dinners 
on  Fridays.  If  the  Papists  in  her  Majesty's  Prison, 
Westminster,  are  conscientious,  or  are  not  dispensed 
while  in  prison,  this  arrangement  may  be  an  economi- 
cal one  for  her  Majesty's  government. 

On  Saturday,  bread  and  soup  again  ;  and  on  Sunday, 
suet-pudding. 

At  one  o'clock  p.m.  the  dinner  vessels  in  the  cells 
are  taken  out  and  washed,  and  prisoners  locked  in 
their  cells  till  five  p.m.,  when  supper  of  bread  and 
gruel  is  brought  them,  after  which  they  are  locked  in 
for  the  night. 

"Are  3-011  all  right?"  asks  the  warder.  "  Good- 
night." These  two  sentences  are  all  the  words  allowed 
to  be  spoken  to  a  prisoner,  unless  they  have  to  be 
scolded  for  some  breach  of  the  regulations,  and  these 
more  to  be  assured  of  their  occupant  than  from  cour- 
tesy or  kindness.  Thus  each  prisoner  is  locked  in  her 
solitary  cell  for  twenty-three  hours  out  of  every  twenty- 
four  ;  which  is  in  itself  a  very  dreadful  punishment,  bad 
for  the  health  of  the  bod}7,  worse  for  the  health  of  the 
mind  —  abnormal,  inhuman,    diseasing,    demoralizing. 


HER   MAJESTY'S   PRISON,   WESTMINSTER.      329 

A  saint  might  grow  more  saintly  b}*  such  a  discipline, 
perhaps ;  tout  even  a  saint's  body  could  hardly  get 
more  healthy.  Common  men  and  women,  social 
beings,  with  all  their  best  instincts  unsatisfied  and 
blighted,  must  be  made  worse  in  every  way  by  such 
uu natural  conditions. 

The  treatment  of  a  prisoner  depends  upon  the  char- 
acter and  disposition  of  the  warder.  The  warders  may 
be  very  kind  or  very  cruel  without  breaking  the  prison 
rules.  If  well  disposed,  they  can  favor  a  prisoner  in 
many  ways ;  if  ill  disposed,  jealous,  harsh,  or  cruel, 
as  some  warders,  even  female  warders,  are,  they  can 
make  a  prisoner's  life  very  uncomfortable. 

They  are  directed  to  treat  their  prisoners  as  kindly 
as  the}'  can  consistently  with  their  duty  to  enforce  the 
rules.  The}T  are  not  allowed  to  strike  a  prisoner.  If 
a  prisoner  is  so  refractory  as  to  be  unmanageable, 
male  officers,  who  are  at  hand,  are  sent  for.  The  pris- 
oner has,  however,  no  possible  remedy  for  any  amount 
of  ill  usage.  The  word  of  a  prisoner  would  never  be 
believed  against  that  of  an  officer.  For  the  slightest 
offence,  a  prisoner  may  be  reported  to  the  lady  super- 
intendent for  punishment,  and  consigned  to  a  padded 
cell  without  bed  or  furniture,  with  no  exercise  or  chapel, 
with  bread  and  water,  and  loss  of  good-conduct  marks 
and  money.  For  the  best  possible  conduct  a  prisoner 
may  be  allowed  to  come  out  of  her  cell,  and  scrub,  or 


330  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

break  stone.  This  is  called  "  occupying  a  position  of 
trust." 

From  November  to  March  prisoners  are  allowed  to 
light  gas  in  their  cells  from  five  p.m.  to  eight.  The 
corridors  of  the  prison  are  warmed  with  hot-water 
pipes ;  but  this  begins  late  in  the  season,  and  is  regu- 
lated, not  by  the  thermometer,  but  the  almanac  and 
the  number  of  royal  marriages,  which,  of  course,  affect 
government  appropriations. 

We  were  expected  to  keep  our  cells  clean,  but  were 
provided  with  no  soap  (except  about  half  an  ounce  a 
week  for  our  hands) ,  no  washing  flannels,  no  stones  for 
the  floors,  really  no  means  of  cleanliness.  A  prisoner 
is  allowed  a  bath,  hot  or  cold,  of  ten  minutes,  once  a 
fortnight.  I,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  bathe  two  or 
three  times,  a  dajr  found  this  scarcity  of  water  a  great 
deprivation.  The  bath,  even  at  these  long  intervals,  is 
not  of  obligation  ;  and  very  few  prisoners  bathe  at  all, 
leaving  them  undesirable  company  for  those  who  do. 

Prisoners  who  are  seriously  ill  are  removed  to  the 
infirmary,  where  they  have  a  better  diet,  beds  to  sleep 
on,  and  gas.  The  doctor  can  be  summoned  at  any 
time,  but  he  has  a  difficult  position.  Prisoners  want 
to  get  into  the  infirmary  cells  for  the  better  diet  and 
other  privileges.  The  cunning  may  deceive  even  a 
very  clever  physician  ;  while  the  really  sick  and  suffer- 
ing may  possibly,  if  under  a  hard  warder,  be  neglected. 


HER   MAJESTY'S   PRISON,    WESTMINSTER.      331 

On  the  whole,  the  behavior  of  the  prisoners,  no 
longer  exposed  to  the  influence  of  drink,  was  remarka- 
bly good.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  drunk 
and  sober.  A  little  alcohol  converts  an  angel  into  a 
demon.  The  amount  of  whiskey  on  which  the  chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer  gets  threepence  may  make  all 
the  difference  between  vice  and  virtue,  innocence  and 
crime.  If  these  hundreds  of  poor  women  could  only 
be  sent  to  some  country,  possibly  Pagan,  where  they 
could  get  no  whiskey,  they  might  be  chaste  wives, 
fond  mothers,  and  good  Christians. 

The  rule  of  this  prison  is  a  rule  of  solitude  and 
silence.  Prisoners  must  not  make  a  noise  in  walk- 
ins;,  must  not  sins;  or  talk  with  their  warders  or  each 
other.  But  no  h^ome  secretary  can  absolutely  govern 
the  tongues  of  five  or  six  hundred  women.  They 
manage"  to  talk  with  each  other  through  the  ventilat- 
ors :  during  exercise  there  may  be  some  furtive  con- 
versation between  those  who  are  thrown  together,  and 
still  more  during  the  singing  in  chapel. 

Considering  the  sort  of  persons  who  would  naturally 
seek  for  such  an  einploj'meiit,  even  with  the  prospect 
of  a  retiring  pension  after  many  years  of  service,  the 
warders  were  better  than  one  would  expect,  and  some 
very  intelligent  and  very  kind.  There  are,  however, 
in  all  prisons,  I  fear,  officers  quite  the  reverse,  —  igno- 
rant, low-bred,  drunken,  and  innately,  constitutionally 


332  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

cruel.  The  lady  superintendent  at  Tothill  Fields,  a 
firm,  capable  woman,  had  been  obliged,  I  heard,  to  rid 
herself  of  eight  drunken  warders  and  several  thieves. 
I  have  myself  seen  warders  reeling  from  drink.  Pris- 
oners who  are  often  there,  and  come  to  know  the  offi- 
cers, say  of  this  or  that  one,  "  You'll  get  on  all  right 
with  her  when  she  isn't  drunk." 

One  miserable  drunken  warder  seemed  to  take  a 
special  spite  at  me :  she  would  have  liked  to  have  me 
under  her,  and  she  took  every  opportunity  to  assail  me 
with  rough  and  brutal  language.  "When  I  was  very  ill, 
so  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  walk,  she  said,  if  I  only 
belonged  to  her,  she  would  make  me  walk  faster,  or 
she  would  have  me  carried  by  my  head  and  heels. 

Of  course  female  warders  are  jealous  of  each  other. 
Singers  and  actresses,  and  man}'  other  women  perhaps, 
are  not  quite  free  from  such  small  frailties.  Naturally 
the}'  suspect  and  complain  of  favoritism.  It  is  as 
much  as  the  doctor's  life  is  worth  to  show  the  slightest 
partiality  to  officer  or  prisoner.  The  lad}r  superintend- 
ent better  than  any  one  else  can  tell  }'Ou  why. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 


PRISONERS    AND    PRISON-LIFE. 


Choosing  to  go  upon  the  Catholic  side,  m}-  chaplain, 
of  course,  was  the  Roman-Catholic  priest  appointed  by 
the  cardinal-archbishop  for  this  arduous  and  responsible 
position.  As  the  bulk  of  the  Roman  Catholics  in  Lon- 
don are  the  poor  Irish,  crowded  b}*  their  poverty  into 
the  worst  conditions,  and  subjected  to  all  its  tempta- 
tions, there  are  man}'  Catholic  prisoners. 

The  Catholic  chaplain  was  a  Jesuit,  and  of  course 
highly  educated.  Whatever  else  Jesuits  may  be,  they 
must  be  that.  They  may  hold  that  "  the  end  sanctifies 
the  means ; ' '  but  some  of  their  means  seem  to  be  a 
careful  selection  of  candidates,  a  thorough  educational 
course  extending  over  fourteen  years,  and  the  polished 
manners  which  fit  them  to  shine  in  the  highest  society, 
and  to  deal  effectively  with  the  lowest.  For  the  rest, 
I  presume  a  thoroughly  educated,  well-bred  man  may 
possibly  also  be  a  good  one. 

My  chaplain  selected  me  to  take  charge  of  the  cha- 
pel, to  keep  it  clean,  and  to  dress  the  altar  for  the  daily 

333 


334  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

mass.  This  was  a  great  favor  and  a  great  happiness. 
On  the  first  Saturday  I  was  in  prison,  a  friend  of  mine, 
a  Catholic  gentleman,  brought  an  armful  of  beautiful 
flowers  for  the  altar ;  and  every  Saturday  for  ten 
months,  in  storm  or  sunshine,  through  summer  and 
winter,  he  came  to  the  gate  of  the  prison  with  the 
same  beautiful  offering  to  our  friendship,  which  bright- 
ened the  eyes,  and  gladdened  the  hearts,  of  the  poor 
prisoners.  I  suppose  it  may  seem  to  many  a  supersti- 
tion to  ornament  a  chapel  with  flowers,  but  it  is  at  least 
a  \ery  pretty  one.  And  why  not  flowers  in  a  church, 
as  well  as  in  a  drawing-room  or  on  a  lady's  bonnet? 
The  poor  prisoners  at  least  did  not  see  any  harm  in  it ; 
and  I,  for  one,  found  a  great  happiness,  until,  toward 
the  end,  I  became  so  ill  that  I  could  no  longer  bear 
them. 

There  is  a  religious  service  at  nine  o'clock  every 
morning  at  each  chapel,  and  two  services  on  Sunday. 
Every  Protestant  prisoner  is  obliged  to  attend.  They 
go  together,  each  prison  forming  a  group,  with  the 
warders  to  keep  them  in  order;  but  there  are  not 
enough  to  prevent  them  from  talking,  and  sometimes 
using  very  bad  language  with  each  other.  The  Cath- 
olic chaplain  can  send  for  any  of  his  prisoners  to  his 
room,  or  see  the  older  ones  in  their  cells,  with  the 
warder  outside  ;  but  I  believe  the  Protestant  chaplain 
sees  all  prisoners  in  the  presence  of  the  warder,  which 
is  also  the  rule  with  the  doctor. 


PRISONERS   AND   PRISON-LIFE.  335 

There  is  a  school  for  all  prisoners  who  are  not  toler- 
ably well  educated.  The  warders  teach,  and  the  pupils 
are  examined  by  the  chaplains. 

Five-sixths  of  the  women  at  Tothill  Fields  are  of  the 
class  of  prostitutes.  As  there  is  no  classification  or 
separation  of  prisoners,  they  have  many  opportunities 
to  corrupt  those  who  are  still  innocent ;  and  young 
girls  are  induced  to  join  them  when  their  terms  of 
imprisonment  have  expired.  It  is  said  that  women 
get  sent  for  short  terms  for  no  other  purpose  than  that 
of  making  such  acquaintances. 

I  was  surprised  to  find  these  women  of  ill  fame  so 
frank  as  to  their  mode  of  life,  so  determined  to  per- 
severe in  what  they  considered  one  of  many  modes  of 
getting  a  living,  so  resolutely  set  against  any  idea  of 
reform,  or  of  giving  up  their  unhappy  relations.  Those 
who  were  registered  as  Catholics,  if  they  disliked  their 
warders,  would  register  next  time  as  Protestants'. 

One  of  my  fellow-prisoners  was  poor  Mabel  "Wilber- 
force,  who  had  been  convicted  of  perjury,  and  sen- 
tenced to  nine  months'  imprisonment,  for  doing  about 
what  is  considered  as  the  proper  and  honorable  thing 
for  men  who  are  co-respondents  in  divorce-suits.  She 
complained  of  being  cold  for  want  of  sufficient  cloth- 
ing, especially  at  night,  and  was  considered  fault-find- 
ing and  troublesome.  Then  she  accused  her  warder  of 
drinking ;  but,  when  she  was   summoned  before  the 


386  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

commissioners,  it  was  shown  that  the  warder  had  a 
good  reputation  in  the  prison,  and  Mabel  was  defeated, 
and  placed  under  Miss  Henschell,  one  of  the  severest 
and  most  inhuman  warders  in  the  place.  For  what 
were  considered  groundless  complaints,  she  was  kept 
about  half  the  time  in  the  solitary  confinement  of  the 
padded  cells,  on  bread  and  water,  until  she  became  thin, 
pale,  desperate,  and  an  utter  wreck,  —  so  weak  that 
she  could  scarcely  stand.  One  day  when  a  kind  officer 
had  taken  her  down  into  the  yard,  and  said  to  her, 
Poor  child,  try  to  keep  up,"  she  answered,  "  Oh, 
for  God's  sake,  don't  speak  to  me  in  that  way !  I 
have  not  had  a  kind  word  said  to  me  in  this  prison,  and 
I  cannot  bear  it." 

She  tried  to  commit  suicide  by  putting  her  handker- 
chief round  her  neck,  and  tying  it  to  the  gas-pipe,  but 
was  seen  by  her  officer,  and  kept  several  days  in  a 
strait-jacket ;  that  is,  laced  up  in  a  sack  night  and  day, 
and  so  kept,  when  very  ill.  Her  bed  was  taken  from 
her  during  the  day  ;  and,  bolt  upright,  she  had  to  endure, 
with  some  management,  this  terrible  torture.  She  after- 
ward was  admitted  to  the  sick-cells,  and  given  a  better 
diet.  She  was  young,  pretty,  and  clever,  but  seemed 
also  vain,  frivolous,  and  ambitious  ;  but  for  this  should 
she  have  been  so  punished? 

I  had  been  condemned  to  twelve  months'  imprison- 
ment with  hard  labor.     Had  I  been  guilt}-  of  half  that 


PRISONERS   AND   PRISON-LIFE.  337 

was  charged  against  me,  it  would  have  been  far  too 
light  a  punishment.  For  much  smaller  offences,  men 
and  women  are  sent  for  from  five  to  ten  years  to  penal 
servitude.  My  inference  is,  that  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins 
did  not  believe  me  guilty.  He  is  not  in  the  habit  of 
giving  people  less  than  their  deserts. 

The  "  hard  labor  "  atTothill  Fields  is  rather  a  myth. 
There  is  very  little  oakum-picking.  The  cell-work  of 
assorting  waste-paper  is  very  light.  The  laundry,  the 
working  in  the  cook-house,  and  what  are  called  the 
"places  of  trust,"  are  the  only  hard  labor.  mI  did  a 
little  knitting,  because  I  liked  it,  and  I  took  care  of 
my  chapel,  but  not  an  hour's  hard  labor  during  the 
twelve  months. 

Such  a  prison  ought  to  be  a  reformatory  school. 
But  what  can  be  done  with  short  sentences  constantly 
repeated  ?  Women  who  get  drunk  and  noisy  are  sent 
for  from  five  to  twenty-one  days.  They  manage  to 
make  acquaintances  ;  and  one  who  was  sentenced  for 
four  months  sent  so  many  girls  to  her  house  of  ill  fame, 
.  that  she  said  it  was  the  best  four  months'  work  she 
had  ever  done. 

What  is  needed  is  classification  according  to  the 
sentences.  Now  a  woman  of  forty,  who  has  served 
two  hundred  and  forty-six  sentences,  may  be  put  in 
the  next  cell  to  a  young  girl  sent  for  the  first  time. 
She  gets  next  her  at  exercise,  sits  by  her  at  chapel, 


338  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PEISON. 

talks  during  the  singing.  A  sweetly  pretty  girl  who 
had  the  misfortune  to  get  tipsy  on  a  bank  holiday,  and 
became  riotous,  and  broke  a  window,  was  sent  for 
three  months.  A  procuress  in  the  next  cell  got  her  to 
become  an  inmate  of  her  house  as  soon  as  she  was 
released.    . 

My  own  cell  was  between  the  cells  of  two  noted 
thieves.  One  had  served  two,  and  the  other  three, 
terms  of  penal  servitude.  Some  spend  more  time  in 
the  prison  than  out  of  it,  and  seem  to  prefer  the  free- 
dom from  care  and  the  more  orderly  life.  The  ward- 
ers think  all  prisoners  ought  to  be  equally  contented. 

My  warder  was  very  good  to  me.  She  looked  at 
my  hands,  and  said,  "You  don't  look  as  if  you  could 
do  hard  work.  Can  3-011  knit?"  —  "Yes."  —  "Can 
you  se w  ?  "  —  "  Yes . "  —  "  Which  can  you  do  best  ?  " 
—  "  Whichever  30U  please  ;  but,  if  it  is  all  the  same, 
I  would  prefer  the  knitting." 

But  I  soon  went  to  the  chapel.  There  was  some 
really  hard  work,  —  scrubbing,  dusting,  and  making 
it  as  clean  as  it  ought  to  be ;  but,  this  being  done  by 
another,  I  had  only  to  oversee  the  work,  and  dress  the 
altar  with  the  flowers  that  came  every  Saturday  and 
the  vigils  of  holida3's  of  obligation.  I  also  kept  the 
priest's  vestments  in  order,  and  was  very  happy  to 
have  such  work  to  do  and  to  be  able  to  do  it. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

SPIRITS    IN    PRISON. 

I  have  tried  to  give  a  general  idea  of  my  position 
as  a  prisoner  before  relating  some  of  my  special  expe- 
riences as  a  Spiritualist.  Doubtless  the  question  comes 
into  the  mind  of  the  reader,  "  Why  did  your  guardian 
spirits,  so  wise  and  so  powerful,  allow  you  to  go  to 
prison  at  all?  Surely  they  could  have  protected  you 
from  such  a  misfortune." 

This  opens  up  a  very  large  question.  Why  are  men 
made  liable  to  physical  and  moral  evils?  Why  are 
not  all  protected  and  saved  from  errors,  vices,  and 
crimes?  What  is  the  divine  purpose  of  evil  and  sin 
and  suffering? 

I  received  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  as  a  friend  and  sister, 
because,  at  the  time,  it  seemed  to  me  to  be  my  duty 
to  do  so.  Spirits  are  not  infallible :  it  may  be  that 
they  see  what  will  in  the  end  be  for  the  greatest  good. 
When  I  was  accused  of  crime  in  England,  after  being 
cleared  of  all  such  imputation  in  America,  I  felt  it  to 
be  my  duty  to  come  and  meet  the  accusation  at  what- 

339 


340  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

ever  peril  to  myself .  It  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  a 
duty  to  nryself,  to  my  friends,  and  to  the  cause  of 
Spiritualism.  Therefore  I  came,  not  thinking  about 
its  being  heroic  or  quixotic. 

I  believed  also  that  I  had  the  protection  of  wise  and 
good  spirits,  who  would  help  me  to  do  what  was  best. 
A  few  nights  before  I  was  sentenced,  I  was  visiting 
with  some  friends.  Mr.  H.  Bastian,  the  medium,  was 
one  of  them,  and  we  had  what  is  called  a  seance. 
Several  spirits  came  and  talked  with  us.  One  whom 
I  have  often  seen  and  heard  and  felt,  and  whom  I 
recognize  as  one  of  the  sweetest  and  loveliest,  wisest 
and  best,  came  in  her  beautiful  form,  and  beckoned  to 
me  to  come  near  to  her.  I  went  forward  and  sat  upon 
a  sofa,  when  she  came  and  put  the  soft  white  veil 
that  covered  her  head  also  over  mine,  kissed  me  on 
both  eyelids,  and  gave  me  some  words  of  comfort  to 
strengthen  me  for  the  coming  trial.  In  her  earthly 
life  she  had  experienced  misfortunes,  as  we  call  them, 
to  which  mine  have  been  the  merest  trifles.  She  was 
maligned,  imprisoned  for  many  j-ears,  and  then  judi- 
cially murdered.  I  will  not  give  her  name  ;  but  I  felt 
greatly  honored  by  her  recognition  and  friendship,  and 
hoped  I  should  suffer  my  small  inconveniences  in  some 
measure  as  she  did  her  great  martyrdom. 

After  my  sentence  I  spent,  as  I  have  said,  my  first 
night  in  Newgate.     As  I  lay  on  the  bed  in  my  cell,  a 


SPIRITS   IN   PRISON.  341 

little  stunned  and  much  wearied  with  what  had  been 
passing,  —  the  eight  consecutive  days  of  the  trial,  and 
the  five  hours  summing-up  of  the  judge,  —  I  heard 
"  raps  "  all  about  me.  I  had  thrown  nryself  on  the 
bed,  too  tired  to  undress.  The  sounds  seemed  to  me 
a  mockery.     I  did  not  feel  like  asking  any  questions. 

Then  I  felt  a  small  hand  come  into  mine,  and  a 
sweet  little  voice  I  knew  —  oh,  so  well !  —  said,  "  Mam- 
ma, it  will  "be  better  for  you,  dear,  if  you  take  off 
your  clothes  and  go  to  bed." 

Coming  in  my  utter  desolation,  this  little  voice  was 
the  sweetest  music  I  ever  heard.  There  were  only  two 
voices  in  the  world  that  had  the  right  to  call  me 
"mamma,"  —  one,  that  of  my  boy  in  America;  the 
other,  that  of  my  boy  in  heaven. 

"It  doesn't  matter  about  my  clothes,  darling,"  I 
said.  "  But  I  know  you,  baby  dear,  and  it  is  so  sweet 
of  you  to  come  to  me  !  but  I  am  afraid  taking  off  my 
clothes  will  not  bring  me  rest." 

Then  I  felt  two  little  rosebud  lips  on  my  forehead, 
like  dew;  then  heard  the  little  cheery  voice,  which 
said,  "But  you  know,  mamma  dear,  your  clothes  are 
tired,  and  you  should  give  them  rest." 

I  rose  and  took  off  my  clothes,  and  carefully  spread 
them  out  to  rest.  I  felt  that  they  might  indeed  be 
tired.  And  the  voice  I  knew  and  loved  said,  "Poor 
mamma's  clothes  are  having  a  rest ;  and  now  poor 
mamma's  heart  shall  have  a  rest  too." 


342  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

Then  I  saw  clairvoyantly  my  beautiful  boy  kneeling 
at  my  bedside,  praying  for  his  mother.  After  a  few 
moments  of  silence,  he  kissed  me  again,  and  said,  "  I 
am  going  to  papa  and  dear  brother ;  and  I  will  come 
back  to-morrow,  and  tell  you  how  the}7  are." 

The  ice  melted  from  about  my  heart,  the  great  thick 
stone  walls  were  gone,  my  imprisonment  was  ended. 
I  did  not  sleep  in  Newgate  ;  but  I  did  sweetly  rest  —  so 
rested  in  spirit  as  in  body,  that  in  the  morning,  when  I 
said  my  prayers,  I  said  one  for  the  unhappy  woman 
whose  perjuries  had  brought  me  there.  I  said,  "For- 
give us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  them  that  have 
trespassed  against  us." 

Recording  this  experience  reminds  me  of  one  I  had 
at  Clerkenwell  Prison,  where  I  was  taken  at  my  first 
remand  at  Bow  Street,  and  before  the  magistrate  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  admit  me  to  bail. 

When  the  warder  opened  the  door  of  the  cell 
assigned  me,  I  saw  the  radiantly  beautiful  form  of  a 
woman  pass  into  the  cell  before  me,  and  turn  round, 
and  stretch  out  her  arms  to  receive  me.  She  wore  a 
long  rosary  and  crucifix  at  her  girdle.  She  held  out 
the  crucifix  to  me.  I  fell  on  my  knees,  took  it  in  my 
fingers,  and  kissed  it.  It  was  as  tangible  as  any  I  ever 
touched.     Then  she  said,  — 

"  You  enter  under  the  shadow  of  the  cross  :  you  will 
go  out  into  the  sunshine.     Meditate  well  upon  the  pas- 


SPIRITS   IN   PRISON.  343 

sion  of  our  Lord,  for  when  next  you  celebrate  it  your 
hour  will  have  come." 

My  next  Easter  Sunday  was  spent  in  prison. 

She  bent  over  me,  and  kissed  and  blessed  me,  and 
left  the  cell,  seeming  to  pass  through  the  closed  door ; 
and  as  she  drew  after  her,  fold  upon  fold,  her  white 
dress,  it  seemed  as  if  she  left  wave  upon  wave  of 
sweetness  behind  her,  and  my  loneliness  seemed  peo- 
pled with  love. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  two  prisons  of  Newgate  and 
Clerkenwell  became  holj-  places  in  my  memory,  and 
my  life,  hard  and  bitter  as  it  seemed,  was  filled  with 
ineffable  consolations. 

After  the  weary  trial  and  my  sweet  night's  rest  in 
Newgate,  I  was  taken  by  some  special  favor,  as  I  have 
related,  in  a  cab  to  Tothill  Fields.  When  I  had  passed 
through  the  ordeal  of  the  reception-room,' and  the 
female  warder  to  whose  custody  I  was  committed  had 
shown  me  m}'  cell,  and  then  shut  and  locked  my  door, 
the  turning  of  the  key  sounded  like  a  farewell  to  the 
universe.  I  had  been  interested  by  the  novelty  of  nrv 
position  and  the  strange  persons  and  things  about 
me  ;  but  now  all  mj-  world  —  sea,  sky,  pictures,  music 
—  all  was  in  my  cold,  dark,  lonely  cell. 

In  the  first  moments  of  isolation  the  shadow  of  all 
the  coming  3'ear  of  loneliness  fell  over  me.  When  the 
key  turned,  my  heart  sprang  to  my  lips  with  a  farewell 


344  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

to  everybody  aud  every  thing,  — home,  husband,  child, 
friends.  It  was  like  a  living  death  of  all  I  prized  and 
loved.  I  threw  nryself  upon  my  knees  on  the  cold, 
hard  stone,  and  put  out  my  hands  as  if  to  feel  for  the 
touch  of  some  human  hand  to  comfort  me  ;  and  there, 
again,  I  felt  the  little  fingers  touching  mine;  and  the 
little  voice  I  had  heard  at  Newgate  said  to  me,  — 

u  Mamma,  as,  when  I  died,  an  angel  came  to  tell 
you  of  your  first  work,  and  show  you  my  resurrection, 
now  at  this  second  death  a  legion  of  angels  comes  to 
show  you  your  second  work  and  your  own  resurrection. 
Mamma  dear,  nobody  has  died,  and  nothing  has  died, 
but  yourself." 

I  heard  no  more,  but  I  think  I  realized  the  meaning 
of  what  I  had  heard.  The  feeling  of  vacillation,  and 
the  sense  of  being  diffused  throughout  the  world,  left 
me ;  and  I  felt  as  if  this  death  was  a  white  angel,  that 
had  taken  off  all  my  black  garments,  and  given  me  new 
white  robes,  and  shown  me  the  use,  as  well  as  the  use- 
lessness,  of  the  world.  Just  as  all  the  bitterness  of  my 
trial  came  into  the  half-hour  of  parting  with  my  friends, 
so  were  all  the  sufferings  of  my  twelve  months'  impris- 
onment crowded  into  this  first  half-hour  in  m}r  cell. 

During  that  afternoon  I  thought  of  the  length  of 
my  imprisonment.  If  two  hours  went  so  slowly,  and 
seemed  so  long,  how  could  I  pass  twelve  months?  The 
time  seemed  very  long  and  very  heavy.     I  took  a  pin, 


SPIRITS   IN  PRISON.  345 

and  marked  each  half-hour  by  the  striking  of  the  great 
prison-clock.  I  did  this  till  midnight.  But  it  was  very 
cold,  and  at  last  I  lay  down  upon  my  hammock.  As 
I  lay  there,  when  an  hour  had  passed  I  saw  a  little 
beam  of  light  come,  and  mark  off  the  hour  upon  the 
wall.  And  from  this  time  there  was  no  night  in  which 
the  hours  were  not  so  checked  upon  the  wall ;  and  when 
the  great  clock  was  out  of  order,  as  it  often  was,  and 
ceased  to  strike,  the  ray  of  light  still  marked  each  pass- 
ing hour. 

I  wondered,  the  first  night  I  saw  this  marking  ray, 
whether  it  would  come  again,  and  watched  for  it ;  so 
that  this  employed  my  mind,  and  made  the  time  pass 
more  easily.  Once,  watching  intently  for  the  ray,  and 
feeling  as  if  the  hour  would  never  pass,  there  came 
letters  of  golden  light  upon  the  white  wall,  forming  this 
inscription  :  "  The  gate  which  shuts  out  the  world  gives 
the  angels  entrance." 

So  passed  the  night,  and  so  the  shadows  were  lifted 
from  my  weary  heart.  I  have  often  wondered  if  Mrs. 
Davies'  was  not  more  heavy  than  was  mine. 

The  first  time  I  went  to  the  prison-chapel  was  on 
Maundy  Thursday,  the  day  before  Good  Friday.  I 
fear  I  was  not  in  a  mood  of  resignation,  or  a  religious 
mood  of  any  kind.  It  seemed  to  me,  that,  if  the  good 
God  had  any  power,  among  the  many  who  had  been 
unjust  to  me  he  might  have  found  one  soft,  impressi- 


346  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

ble  heart.  A  new,  strange,  painful  bitterness  came 
into  my  soul.  I  had  pitied  those  who  persecuted  me : 
I  was  beginning  to  hate  them.  But,  as  the  service 
continued,  I  felt  that  my  proper  attitude  was  one  of 
resignation  ;  and,  as  I  raised  my  eyes  to  the  altar,  above 
the  crucifix  there  seemed  to  come  a  form  of  the  living 
Christ,  and  from  it  came  a  voice  so  loud  and  clear,  that 
I  wondered  every  face  was  not  upturned.     It  said,  — 

"  I  to-day  bear  my  share  in  the  misery  of  the  world: 
can  you  not  for  my  sake  ivash  this  bitterness  out  of  your 
heart  V 

I  said  "Yes,"  not  only  with  my  lips,  but  it  seemed 
as  if  all  my  blood  was  in  a  revolution,  and  that  even 
if  I  had  a  whole  army  against  me,  in  my  feelings,  my 
prejudices,  and  this  bitterness  which  seemed  to  me  so 
gigantic,  — at  this  moment  the  Christ-love  entered  my 
heart,  and  I  hope  my  better  soul  became  a  victor  over 
my  poorer  self. 

The  prison  did  not  seem  so  small  after  that,  nor  the 
poor  women  about  me  so  hideous  ;  for  I  felt  that  the 
place  where  angels  sweet  and  grand  could  come,  was 
not  utterly  unfit  for  me,  nor  the  women  there  wholly 
abandoned. 

During  the  service  the  raps  that  came  about  me 
were  so  loud  and  frequent,  that  my  warder  thought 
some  of  the  women  were  making  them,  and  peered 
about,  and  watched  them.     While  she  was  doing  this, 


SPIRITS   IN  PRISON.  347 

I  mentally  asked  who  was  making  the  raps ;  and,  call- 
ing over  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  the  letters  marked 
by  the  raps  spelled  this  message  :  — 

"  This  warder  is  my  wife.  Tell  her  that  I  am  not 
dead,  but  here,  and  this  place  will  seem  to  her  less 
dreadful." 

Weeks  afterward,  when  I  had  come  to  know  her,  I 
told  her  of  this  message.  It  was  my  first  lesson  to  my 
warder  in  Spiritualism. 

Some  days  passed  without  any  more  direct  commu- 
nication from  spirits  ;  but  my  mind,  and  the  whole 
place,  seemed  pervaded  by  their  influence. 

For  several  days  after  I  came  to  the  prison,  I  could 
not  eat.  The  food  was  very  different  from  that  to 
which  I  had  been  accustomed :  I  had  no  appetite,  and 
could  not  bring  myself  to  taste  it.  After  nearly  a  week 
of  this  fasting,  when  I  was  becoming  exhausted,  I  was 
wakened  one  night  from  a  feverish  sleep  by  feeling 
something  in  my  mouth.  I  felt,  and  then  pressed  and 
tasted  it.  It  was  a  ripe,  delicious  grape.  Another  and 
another  were  given  me,  until  I  had  eaten  a  considerable 
cluster.  In  the  morning  the  stalks,  skins,  and  seeds 
were  found  by  my  warder  lying  on  my  table.  She 
asked  me  how  I  had  got  the  grapes.  I  told  her  the 
spirits  had  brought  them.  As  she  could  see  no  other 
way,  she  thought  I  must  be  going  insane  ;  but,  not 
wishing  to  get  into  trouble,  she  was  obliged  to  accept 
my  explanation. 


348  TWELVE   MONTHS  IN   PRISON. 

One  night,  when  between  three  and  four  weeks  had 
passed,  I  thought,  "  Oh,  dear  me  !  when  a  month  has 
passed,  what  a  time  will  still  remain !  "  And  then  I 
heard  the  spirit  "Joey"  (known  to  so  many  people 
all  over  the  world  through  Mr.  Eglinton),  saying  in 
his  very  peculiar  and  most  welcome  voice,  — 

"Don't  be  down-hearted,  Bertie!  don't  be  down- 
hearted !  ' ' 

The  dear  voice  seemed  to  embrace  and  warm  me.  I 
said,  — 

"  Joey  dear,  I  have  been  here  only  three  weeks  and 
a  half,  and  it  seems  like  eternit}'.  If  it  were  only  a 
month,  it  would  be  a  twelfth  part  of  the  whole." 

"You  have  been  here  more  than  a  month,"  said 
Joey. 

I  thought  he  was  joking,  or  that  I  had  been  crazy, 
and  had  lost  my  account  of  the  time. 

Evidently  ' '  Joey  ' '  could  read  my  thoughts  ;  for  he 
said,  — 

"  If  you  don't  believe  me,  look  on  your  card." 

My  card  was  a  bit  of  pasteboard  on  the  door  of  the 
cell,  on  which  is  inscribed  the  name  of  the  prisoner, 
and  her  age,  offence,  and  length  of  sentence.  On 
looking  at  it  next  day,  as  directed  by  "Joey,"  I 
found,  to  my  great  surprise,  that  the  term  for  which 
I  had  been  sentenced  began  with  the  opening  of  the 
sessions,  March  27,  instead  of  April  13,  the  day  of 


SPIRITS   IN   PRISON.  349 

my  conviction  and  sentence.  The  card  stated  that  my 
term  would  end  on  March  27.  Still  feeling  that  there 
must  be  some  mistake,  I  took  the  card  to  my  warden, 
and  she  explained  it.  "Joey"  was  right;  and  I  had 
got  through  six  weeks,  instead  of  three  weeks  and  a 
half. 

Some  day  I  may  have  a  fortune  of  a  million  pounds 
given  to  me,  or  I  may  become  sovereign  of  some 
grand  empire  ;  but  I  shall  never  again  feel  so  rich 
or  so  grand  as  I  did  over  the  unexpected  gain  of 
those  three  weeks  of  my  term  of  imprisonment. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


AN   INSANE    PRISONER. 


When  I  entered  the  prison,  I  was  absorbed  in  my 
own  sorrows  and  wrongs.  I  was  very  selfish,  and  had 
no  time  or  space  for  the  greater  griefs  and  greater 
wrongs  of  so  many  others  ;  but,  when  I  began  to  look 
about  me,  I  found  a  new  world,  and  soon  came  to 
think  of  others  as  well  as  of  myself.  My  fellow-pris- 
oners were  a  new  people  to  me,  forming  an  entire  new 
world,  of  which  I  had  hitherto  had  no  idea.  I  watched 
the  faces  of  those  I  found,  and  of  all  new-comers. 
The  coming  of  each  new  group  of  prisoners  brought 
afresh  the  memory  of  my  own  conviction  ;  and,  as  each 
group  departed,  I  fear  I  suffered  a  new  pang  in  being 
left  behind. 

One  day  there  came  into  the  prison  a  woman  with  a 
face  so  sad,  so  quiet  in  its  depth  of  feeling,  so  unlike 
the  faces  of  most  of  the  prisoners,  that  I  could  not  rid 
myself  of  the  impression  of  deep  grief  it  made  upon 
me.  As  I  knelt  upon  my  stone  floor  that  night,  I  saw 
on  the  other  side  of  my  hammock  a  human  form  so 
350 


AN  INSANE  PRISONER.  351 

real,  seeming  so  tangible,  so  unlike  a  spirit,  that  I 
thought  it  must  be  a  living  woman.  She  was  dressed 
in  the  poor,  clean  clothes  of  a  respectable,  neat  work- 
ing-woman, and  was  engaged  in  saying  her  rosary,  the 
beads  passing  through  her  thin  fingers,  and  her  lips 
moving  with  the  prayers. 

I  waited  —  I  did  not  like  to  interrupt  her  —  so  I 
watched  her,  steadily  passing  bead  after  bead,  and  not 
seeming  to  see  me  at  all.  I  heard  her  pronounce  the 
name  of  "  Mary  ;  "  but,  as  that  beautiful  name  occurs 
continually  in  the  rosary,  I  waited  until  she  had  fin- 
ished. She  rose  and  seemed  about  to  leave  me,  when 
I  reached  over  and  touched  her  dress  and  said,  "  Are 
you  a  spirit?" 

She  started  as  if  she  had  not  before  seen  me,  then 
looked  at  me  and  at  my  prison-dress,  and  said,  "Are 
you  one  of  them?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered  :  "lam  one  of  them,  and  very 
helpless.  But,  my  good  woman,  you  seem  to  be  in 
trouble.     Can  I  do  any  thing  to  help  }Tou?  " 

She  looked  at  me  earnestly  for  a  moment,  and  then 
said,  — 

"Yes.     Pray  for  her." 

"  Pray  for  whom?  " 

"Pray  for  Mary  —  for  my  child.  She  is  innocent 
as  a  babe  unborn  ;  yet  they  have  put  her  into  this 
dreadful  place,  and  taken  her  children  away  from  her, 


352  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

and  sold  her  home,  and  she  is  going  mad  —  mad  — 
mad!" 

These  words  seemed  to  ring  through  the  prison  :  so 
I  said,  "  Hush  !  somebody  will  hear  yon." 

She  reached  over,  and  clutched  my  dress.  "You 
look  sweet  and  good,"  she  said;  "and  I  believe  our 
Blessed  Lady  will  hear  you.  Pray  for  her!  Pray 
hard,  pray  hard  !  " 

As  she  talked  to  me,  the  face  that  had  so  impressed 
me  that  day  seemed  to  come  to  me  again  ;  and  I  said, 
"  Are  3xou  speaking  of  the  woman  in  No. ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  she  said.  "  She  is  my  child  —  all  the 
child  I  had  in  the  world.  When  she  was  a  baby  in  my 
arms,  she  was  very  ill,  and  I  thought  God  was  going 
to  take  her  from  me  ;  and  now  I  wish  he  had,  I  wish 
he  had.     I  cannot  bear  to  see  her  surfer." 

This  became  dreadfully  oppressive  to  me,  it  was 
so  terribly  sad.  But  soon  a  spirit-friend  of  mine  came 
and  put  his  arms  about  her,  and  the  two  soon  disap- 
peared. 

I  kept  the  sad  stoiy  in  my  mind,  and  thought  much 

of  the  poor  prisoner  in  Number ,  but  did  not  see 

her.  She  was  in  the  tier  of  cells  above  mine,  where 
we  were  never  allowed  to  go. 

One  day  at  the  end  of  the  week  when  this  "  vision  " 
had  come  to  me,  while  I  was  out  of  my  cell,  I  heard  a 
bell  ring  violently  in  that  tier,  and  my  warder  asked 


AN  INSANE   PRISONER.  353 

me  to  go  and  see  what  was  wanted.  When  I  went  up, 
I  intended  to  make  use  of  the  opportunity  to  peep  into 

Number ;  but,  when   I   reached   the   tier,  I   saw 

that  it  was  Number 's  bell  that  had  rung,  for  the 

number  had  sprung  out  to  show  it. 

Peeping  through  the  inspection-hole,  I  saw  the  wo- 
man. She  had  been  picking  oakum,  and  had  gathered 
it  into  the  skirt  of  her  dress,  and  was  walking  about 
the  cell,  talking  wildly. 

"Poor  little  Johnny!"  she  said,  holding  out  a 
wisp  of  the  oakum,  "  he  shall  have  this  to  play  with." 

I  remembered  what  the  spirit  had  said,  and,  looking 
at  the  card,  saw  that  the  name  was  "  Mary."  I 
reported  what  I  had  seen  to  the  warder,  and  my  im- 
pression that  the  poor  woman  was  mad.  The  warder 
went  to  see  her,  and  on  her  return  said,  — 

"  I  am  afraid  she  is  losing  her  mind,  poor  thing. 
Her  case  is  a  very  hard  one.  She  has  three  little  chil- 
dren, and  when  she  was  convicted  they  were  sent  to 
the  workhouse.  She  is  here  for  nine  months.  Her 
furniture  was  sold  while  she  was  in  the  prison  at  Clerk- 
enwell.  The  separation  from  her  children  preys  upon 
her  mind,  and  she  spends  her  time  making  toys  of  the 
oakum  for  them  to  play  with. 

"  Her  case  was  reported  to  the  doctor ;  and  she  was 
taken  to  the  sick-cells,  and  pronounced  insane.  But 
there  seems  to  have  been  some  difference  of  opinion 


354  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

among  the  prison  authorities  ;  for  in  a  few  days  she 
was  sent  to  the  paper-prison,  and  set  to  sorting  the 
waste-paper,  working  till  eight  o'clock  in  her  cell  by 
the  gaslight." 

O  J!? 

One  night  the  warder,  making  her  rounds,  smelt 
burning  paper.  Searching  for  the  cause,  she  found 
that  the  poor  mad  woman  had  set  her  stock  of  paper 
on  fire,  so  that  her  cell  was  in  a  blaze  of  light,  and 
there  she  was  sitting,  throwing  up  the  burning  papers, 
and  shouting,  "  O/i,  the  children  ivill  be  delighted!  The 
children  will  be  delighted!  " 

Of  course  she  was  sent  back  to  the  infirmary. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

A   VISIT   TO   MY   HUSBAND. 

One  day  in  midsummer  I  was  taken  with  a  great 
longing  to  see  some  friends,  to  escape  from  my  monoto- 
nous environments.  It  was  an  uncontrollable,  unap- 
peasable hunger  of  the  soul,  so  intense  that  I  could 
not  think  or  will  myself  out  of  it. 

Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  this  almost  insane  long- 
ing, there  fell  over  me  a  great  calm,  a  complete  re- 
pose of  emotion.  I  began  to  grow  sleepy,  but  in  this 
sleepiness  there  came  violent  palpitations  of  the  heart. 
I  was  not  surprised  at  this,  it  seemed  the  natural  result 
of  strong  emotions.  This  state  was  soon  followed  by 
what  seemed  to  me  suspended  circulation,  so  that  I 
thought  I  was  dying,  and  soon  became  unconscious. 

I  have  no  means  of  knowing  how  long  I  remained 
so  ;  but  when  I  found  myself,  my  real  self,  as  I  thought 
or  felt,  I  was  in  a  room  with  two  gentlemen.  One  of 
them  was  my  husband  ;  the  other,  a  stranger  to  me.  Of 
course  my  first  impulse  was  to  rush  into  my  husband's 
arms,  but  I  could  not  do  so.      I  seemed  to  have  no 

355 


60b  TWELVE   MONTHS   IK   PRISON. 

power  to  control  my  movements,  and  began  to  be 
doubtful  of  my  condition.  For  a  few  moments  the 
desire  to  get  near  him,  and  the  impossibility  of  doing 
so,  gave  me  a  very  painful  sensation.  It  seemed  like 
being  buried  alive,  and  hearing  one's  friends  moving 
away  from  the  grave. 

But,  as  this  sensation  was  growing  unbearable,  I  saw 
one  of  my  spirit-friends  whom  we  call  "Dewdrop." 
She  cried  out,  "  Now  you  see  what  kind  of  difficulties 
we  spirits  get  into  sometimes,  and  you  must  find  out 
that  when  we  can't  do  wdiat  we  like  we  must  do  what 
we  can.  Come,  tottle  along,  and  we  will  have  a 
seance." 

In  my  "double,"  as  this  separation  of  the  spirit 
from  the  body  is  called,  I  seemed  to  myself  as  much  a 
spirit  as  she  was.  She  took  my  hand,  and  led  me  to 
a  table  at  which  the  stranger  was  sitting.  I  sat  in 
one  of  the  chairs,  while  "  Dewdrop  "  reclined  grace- 
fully on  the  centre  of  the  table,  and  began  making 
"passes,"  gentty  moving  her  hands,  over  the  table 
and  me  and  the  gentleman.  These  tk  passes  "  seemed 
to  etherealize,  so  to  speak,  every  thing  about  her, 
until  she  and  the  table  seemed  to  grow  light  as  air, 
oscillating  with  the  aerial  movements.  I  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  stay  in  my  chair.  As  the  table  moved,  I  heard 
the  gentleman  say  to  my  husband,  — 

"  Oh !  spirits  here,  Fletcher.  Come  and  sit  down, 
and  let  us  see  what  they  have  to  say  to  us." 


A   VISIT   TO   MY   HUSBAND.  357 

As  my  husband  started  to  come  to  the  table,  I 
wished  very  much  that  he  would  come  and  sit  by  me. 
Instead  of  that,  he  sat  by  the  gentleman  who  had 
called  him.  As  he  sat  down,  he  put  his  hands  upon 
the  table,  and  immediately  I  saw  a  change  in  the  color 
of  the  aura  surrounding  it ;  and,  instead  of  its  being 
like  a  filmy  cloud,  rays  of  light,  which  seemed  as  solid 
as  metallic  wires,  came  from  his  fingers,  and  spread 
across  the  table. 

"  Dewdrop,"  leaving  her  perch,  came  round  to  my 
side,  and  placed  her  fingers  upon  these  points  of  light. 
As  she  did  this,  the  oscillations  of  the  table  ceased, 
and  she  said,  — 

"  Lines  all  ready.  Would  you  like  to  send  a  mes- 
sage ?  " 

Though  I  knew  my  husband  could  not  see  me,  I  yet 
foolishly  felt  hurt  that  he  did  not  speak  to  me  ;  and  I 
did  not  at  all  fancy  the  awkward,  undignified,  slow 
way  of  rapping  out  a  message  to  him  letter  by  letter, 
when  he  ought  to  have  come  round  to  me.  It  seemed 
impossible  for  me  to  go  through  the  stupid  process  of 
telegraphing  to  him  across  a  table.  I  felt  as  if  I  would 
rather  go  away. 

"Quiet,  quiet!"  said  my  pretty  uDewdr6p." 
"  Don't  you  see  the  cross-lines?  You  are  getting  too 
positive.' ' 

I  had  put  my  hands  unconsciously  on  the  table  ; 


358  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PEISON. 

and  I  now  saw  lines  from  my  hands  crossing  those 
coming  from  my  husband's. 

"  Oh !  won't  there  be  a  row?"  said  "Dewdrop." 
"Bad  conditions;  no  seance!  Harry  will  be  in  such 
a  temper  !  ' ' 

"  Who  is  Harry?  "  I  asked. 

"  That's  Harry,"  said  she,  pointing  to  the  stranger; 
"  and  he  is  our  medium." 

When  she  said  this,  the  thought  came  to  me,  if  I  am 
interrupting  conditions,  I  must  go  away  ;  only  I  could 
not  go. 

After  a  few  minutes  of  this  suspense,  the  medium 
said  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  "I  wonder  what  the  trouble  is. 
Ask  some  questions,  Fletcher:  let  us  see  what's  up." 

What  came  next  seemed  very  droll  to  me.  Mr. 
Fletcher  bent  over  the  table,  and  said,  "  Dear  spirits, 
are  any  of  }*ou  present?  " 

No  response. 

After  a  moment's  silence,  he  said,  "I  thought  I 
heard  raps." 

"AW"  said  the  medium,  in  a  big,  rough  voice. 
"  My  raps  are  raps.  When  they  come,  you  can't  mis- 
take them  for  the  creaking  of  a  table." 

In  my  amusement  at  the  recollection  of  seances  I 
had  attended,  I  forgot  myself,  and  became  less  "  posi- 
tive ;  "  and  the  lines  from  my  fingers  moved  round, 
and  became  parallel  with  the  others.     As  they  did  so, 


A  VISIT   TO  MY  HUSBAND.  359 

"Dewdrop"  reached  over,  and  put  her  fingers  on  the 
lines,  like  a  telegraph-operator;  and  loud,  full,  vigor- 
ous raps  responded  to  her  touch. 

"  Oh,  they  have  come  !  "  said  my  husband.  "  Is  it 
any  friend  of  mine?  " 

(Three  raps  for  yes.) 

"Who  is  it?" 

(Five  raps  for  alphabet),  and  my  husband  began 
to  saj*  his  A  B  C's  ;  and  the  raps  marking  the  let- 
ters spelled  out,  "  D-e-w-d-r-o-p."  As  the  word  was 
spelled  out,  she  turned  to  me  with,  — 

"  Keep  your  ears  open  for  the  next  question." 

"  O  Dewdrop  !  have  you  seen  Bertie?  " 

(Three  raps.) 

"Is  she  well?" 

"I  should  like  awfully  to  tell  a  crammer;  but  I 
can't,"  said  "Dewdrop"  in  an  aside  to  me.  Then 
she  rapped  out,  — 

"Not  very,  but  getting  better  fast,"  with  a  trium- 
phant look  on  her  little  face  at  the  idea  of  giving  him 
comfort. 

I  had  forgotten  how  he  had  neglected  me  just  now, 
and  wished  only  that  he  should  be  comforted :  so  I 
reached  over,  and  tried  to  work  the  wires,  so  as  to 
send  him  a  message,  but  did  not  succeed. 

"In  Heaven's  name,  '  Dewdrop,' "  I  said,  "can't 
you  manage  so  that  I  can  say  a  word  to  him?  " 


360  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

"Be  patient  a  little  minute,  and  I  will  see  what  I 
can  do  for  you." 

She  disappeared,  and  instantly  returned  with  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  men  I  ever  saw.  He  went  directly 
to  the  medium. 

"  Dewdrop  "  put  up  her  finger.  "Don't  ask  any 
questions,"  she  said.     "  He  is  a  mystic." 

I  neither  spoke  nor  moved,  and  saw  him  take  from 
under  his  loose  robe,  and  place  upon  the  table,  some- 
thing like  a  kernel  of  rice.  Leaving  it  there  for  some 
moments,  he  picked  it  up,  and  seemed  to  insert  it 
under  the  nail  of  the  medium's  forefinger.  He  then 
made  five  raps  on  the  table  ;  and,  as  the  alphabet  was 
called,  he  rapped  out  the  word,  — 

"S-1-a-t-e." 

The  medium  sprang  to  his  feet,  sa}7ing,  "  There  is  a 
most  tremendous  influence  here.     I  must  write." 

He  took  a  slate  from  the  sideboard,  and  held  it  in 
his  right  hand,  higher  than  his  head,  but  over  the  head 
of  Mr.  Fletcher. 

"  Now  is  your  chance,"  said  "  Dewdrop."  "And 
don't  waste  time,  for  this  influence  don't  last  long." 

"Why  not  put  the  slate  upon  the  table?  "  I  said. 
"  I  can't  write  on  it  up  there." 

"  Can't  have  it  down  here,"  said  she  :  "  the  atmos- 
phere is  too  dense.  You  must  climb  up."  And,  as 
if  in  obedience  to  my  desire,  I  began  to  float  slowly 


A  VISIT   TO   MY   HUSBAND.  361 

toward  the  slate.  As  I  did  so,  the  medium  changed 
the  slate  to  his  left  hand.  I  put  my  hands  upon  his 
head  without  knowing  why  I  did  so.  I  seemed  sus- 
pended in  mid-air,  and  liable  to  fall.  I  went  to  write, 
but  I  had  no  pencil.  M  Dewey  "  had  vanished.  Then 
the  medium  said,  — 

"  This  is  apparently  some  spirit  that  does  not  know 
how  to  write.  —  Dear  spirit,  if  you  will  take  my  fore- 
finger for  a  pencil,  you  can  write." 

I  took  his  finger,  and  wrote,  "  Darling  Willie,  I  am 
not  very  ill,  nor  very  unhappy  ;  but  I  do  want  you 
very,  very  much.  Bertie." 

The  influence  left  me ;  and  I  came  rapidly  to  the 
ground,  close  to  his  feet.  As  the  medium  lowered  the 
slate,  he  said,  — 

"  Fletcher,  this  is  the  spirit  of  some  living  person 
who  has  written  this  message.  I  can  always  tell  the 
difference  between  the  embodied  and  the  disembodied 
spirit." 

My  husband  took  the  slate.  He  recognized  the  hand- 
writing, and  read  the  message.  As  he  read  it,  he  burst 
into  sobs,  and  cried,  "O  my  Bertie,  Bertie!"  and, 
pushing  the  slate  toward  the  medium,  he  said,  — 

"  This  message  is  from  my  wife  !  " 

I  wrapped  my  arms  around  him.  I  tried  to  comfort 
him.  As  I  did  this,  the  "  mystic  "  came,  and  touched 
me  on  the  shoulder,  and  said,  — 


362  TWELVE   MONTHS    IN   PRISON. 

"Little  woman,  you  must  come  back.  If  anima- 
tion is  any  longer  suspended,  your  body  will  die." 

I  went  back.  How,  I  cannot  say  ;  bow  long  it  took 
me  to  return,  I  cannot  say.'  It  seemed  that  I  must  go, 
and  I  went. 

I  woke  to  find  myself  lying  on  the  stone  floor  of  my 
cell,  where  my  body  must  have  fallen  when  my  spirit 
left  it ;  and  I  had  the  feeling  that  the  few  inches  of 
clay,  my  body,  was  a  very  small  world  to  live  in,  and 
that  I  now  knew  something  of  the  difficulties  the  hosts 
of  spirits  who  visit  mediums  encounter  in  trying  to 
communicate  with  their  friends.  I  thought  I  should 
never  again  sit  in  a  seance  without  feeling  a  greater 
sympathy  and  a  deeper  charity  for  the  sufferings  of 
spirits  and  the  so-called  failures  of  mediums. 

When  I  next  heard  from  Mr.  Fletcher,  who  had  the 
privilege  of  writing  to  me  at  stated  periods,  I  received 
from  him  a  full  and  circumstantial  confirmation  of  this 
experience. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

FLOWERS    BROUGHT   TO   MY   CELL. A    LOCK    OF   HAIR 

AND    A    LETTER. 

I  kxow  very  well  that  great  numbers  of  persons  seem 
incapable  of  believing  such  .relations  as  I  am  compelled 
to  give.  Some  have  a  natural,  perhaps  hereditary, 
incredulity ;  some  are  committed  to  forms  of  belief  or 
unbelief  which  shut  out  all  spirit-manifestations  as 
impossible.  Of  course  no  materialist  can  believe  in 
the  existence  of  spirits,  and  a  great  many  Christians 
hold  that  every  thing  supernatural  ceased  at  the  end 
of  the  apostolic  age.  The  "  greater  things"  that  are 
to  "follow  them  that  believe"  are  to  come  in  the 
millennium  of  a  far  future.  But  I  have  nothing  to  do 
with  men's  beliefs  or  unbeliefs,  or  even  their  capacity 
to  believe.  I  have  only  to  give  a  true  account  of  my 
own  experience,  without  reticence  or  exaggeration. 
My  simple  mission  is  to  be  a  witness  of  the  truth.  I 
know  that  there  are  now  some  millions  iu  the  world 
who  can  believe  me,  and  many  who  will. 

363 


364  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  PRISON. 

One  morning,  before  I  woke,  one  of  my  spirit-friends 
came,  and  said  to  me,  "  Be  very  particular  about  your 
bathing  this  morning,  and  don't  take  any  food  to-day. 
It  will  be  better  that  you  do  not." 

I  was  accustomed  to  fasting.  I  did  not  eat  for  sev- 
eral days  after  I  came  into  the  prison,  and  several 
times  fasted  three  or  four-  days,  taking  only  a  little 
water. 

All  this  day  I  felt  very  quiet,  and  stronger  and  better 
than  usual,  which  made  me  think  my  friends  were  doing 
something  for  me  which  was  of  more  substantial  bene- 
fit than  any  food  could  be.  • 

At  about  half -past  five  p.m.  I  felt  impelled  to  go  to 
the  chapel  and  say  my  prayers,  feeling  that  there,  in 
that  narrow  compass,  I  was  resting  in  the  arms  of  some 
one  who  understood  me  ;  and,  as  I  knelt  there  in  perfect 
peace,  I  felt  something  touch  my  face,  and  inhaled  a 
strong  odor  of  mignonette,  but  saw  nothing.  I  was 
not  surprised,  for  it  seemed  as  if  any  sweet  thing  might 
come  there. 

When  I  had  finished  my  devotions,  I  returned  to  my' 
cell,  and  went  early  to  bed.  At  about  ten  o'clock  my 
cell  seemed  suddenly  filled  with  light ;  and,  standing 
in  this  light,  I  saw  the  spirit  called  "  Ernest,"  holding 
in  his  hand  a  little  bouquet  of  violets  and  heliotrope. 
Giving  them  to  me,  he  said,  — 

"  I  have  brought  you  these  flowers  from  dear  Mrs. 


FLOWERS   BROUGHT   TO   MY   CELL.  365 

Nichols  and  Mrs.  Western  (of  London)  with  their  love. 
There  was  a  spray  of  mignonette  which  we  gave  to 
Marie  Thcrese,  and  which  she  has  placed  upon  the 
altar.  Yon  caught  its  perfume  to-day  ;  and  to-morrow, 
if  you  search,  3*011  will  find  the  flower." 

I  reached  over  to  grasp  his  hand,  and  take  the 
flowers  ;  and  he  bent  down,  and  tenderly  kissed  me 
on  my  forehead.  I  kissed  him  twice  upon  his  lips, 
and  told  him  to  take  my  kisses,  my  love,  and  my  grate- 
ful thanks,  to  the  dear  friends  who  had  sent  me  the 
flowers.  I  hid  them  in  my  bosom,  and  kept  the  dried 
leaves  and  petals  in  my  cell  as  long  as  I  remained  in 
prison. 

Next  day  I  searched  in  the  chapel  for  the  spray  of 
mignonette,  and  found  it  at  the  foot  of  the  crucifix. 
I  thought  I  could  safely  take  this  to  my  warder,  and 
tell  her  where  I  had  found  it.  Looking  at  me  earnest- 
]y,  she  said,  --Perhaps  3*0111*  angel  brought  it."  I 
thought  how  much  wiser  the  little  woman  was  than  she 
knew. 

I  heard  a  little  later  from  Mrs.  Nichols.  She  said, 
"Mrs.  Western  and  I  have  prepared  a  little  bouquet 
of  flowers ;  and  -  Ernest '  has  taken  them  away,  and 
promised  to  give  them  to  you  if  possible.  The  spray 
of  mignonette  and  the  heliotrope  were  my  contribu- 
tion ;  the  violets,  Mrs.  Western's."  What  better  cor- 
roboration could  be  had  than  this  ! 


366  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  PRISON. 

One  night,  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  "Ernest" 
came  to  me  in  my  cell,  and  said,  "I  want  to  give 
a  test  to  a  friend  of  }*ours  who  is  very  sceptical, 
and  who  wishes  me  to  bring  him  something  from 
yon." 

"  Dear  '  Ernest,'  "  I  said,  "  I  have  nothing  to  send 
him  but  my  clothes  or  my  hair. " 

"It  is  a  lock  of  your  hair  I  want,"  he  said ;  "  but 
it  may  exhaust  you  a  good  deal  for  me  to  take  it.  Are 
you  willing  I  should  do  so?  " 

"Certainly,"  I  replied,  having  no  idea  how  taking 
a  lock  of  my  hair  could  do  me  any  harm. 

He  took  from  beneath  his  robe  something  like  a 
poniard,  and,  lifting  a  little  lock  of  my  hair,  quickly 
severed  it,  and  disappeared.  At  the  stroke  it  seemed 
as  if  my  heart  stopped  beating. 

Some  time  after,  when  I  was  relating  this  with  other 
experiences  to  a  friend,  he  said,  "Did  you  know  to 
whom  that  lock  of  hair  was  taken?"  —  "Not  in  the 
least,"  I  answered.  He  took  a  lock  of  long  hair  from 
his  pocket-book,  and  placed  it  beside  mine,  with  which 
it  perfectly  corresponded  in  color  and  texture.  There 
was  no  doubt  of  its  identity  ;  and  he  told  me  of  a  won- 
derful seance  he  had  had  with  a  medium,  a  friend  of 
mine,  when,  in  answer  to  a  mental  wish  that  some- 
thing might  be  brought  from  me,  this  lock  of  hair  was 
placed  in  his  hand.     He  did  not  mention  the  fact  to 


FLOATERS   BROUGHT   TO   MY  CELL.  8G7 

the  other  persons  present  at  the  seance;  but,  comparing 
the  time  with  my  account,  he  found  that  the  transfer, 
at  some  miles  distance,  must  have  been  almost  instan- 
taneous. It  was  pretty  certain  that  "  Ernest  "  did  not 
travel  by  cab  or  rail. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  give  the  names  of  persons  in 
this  case,  as  I  do  in  most  cases :  but  my  friend  occu- 
pies a  position  in  which  he  might  have  some  annoy- 
ance ;  and  I  have  always,  at  whatever  risk  or  loss, 
carefully  refrained  from  bringing  any  trouble  to  others. 
Persons  in  high  positions  may  be  far  from  occupying 
independent  positions.  There  are  some  whose  influ- 
ence, I  have  sometimes  thought,  might  have  saved  me 
from  some  suffering  ;  but,  if  so,  it  was  theirs  to  offer, 
and  not  mine  to  claim.     "  Noblesse  oblige!  " 

At  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  one  day 
when  I  had  felt  that  I  must  fast,  "  Ernest"  came  to 
me  in  my  cell,  and  said,  — 

"  Dear  friend,  I  wish  you  to  be  very  quiet ;  as,  owing 
to  your  not  having  taken  food  to-day,  I  find  }tou  in  a 
good  condition  for  manifestations." 

"  0  '  Ernest !  '  "  I  said,  "  what  do  you  want  to  do 
to-night?" 

"  Keep  perfectly  quiet  and  you  will  see." 

He  disappeared  ;  and  soon  there  came  three  spirits, 
bringing  with  them  a  crucible  from  which  arose  a 
flame.     They  set  it  on  my  table. 


368  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

I  spoke  to  them,  and  asked  what  they  were  doing; 
but  they  made  no  response.  They  seemed  to  be  doing 
something  with  their  fingers  over  the  crucible.  In  a 
few  minutes  "  Ernest"  returned,  and  asked  the  other 
spirits,  "  Is  every  thing  ready?  "  Receiving  an  affirm- 
ative answer,  he  said,  "Every  thing  to-night  seems 
favorable  to  our  attempt  at  recreation." 

My  cell  was  one  of  the  dark  ones,  and  at  five  o'clock 
was  dark  enough  for  any  manifestation.  People  quar- 
rel with  dark  seances.  They  want  every  thing  in  the 
light.  But  they  must  darken  rooms  for  photography, 
for  the  magic-lantern,  for  the  solar-microscope  ;  and 
chemists  find  that  some  gases  can  only  be  kept  in 
darkness,  because  a  ray  of  light  causes  an  explosion. 
Spirit-lights  can  only  be  seen  in  a  dark  room.  It 
seems  best  to  allow  the  spirits  to  choose  their  own 
conditions  for  doing  their  own  work. 

The  three  spirits  with  the  crucible  vanished,  and 
"Ernest"  said, — 

"  I  wish  you  to  write  a  note  that  I  can  take  to  one 
who  is  present  at  our  seance  to-night  at  Dr.  Nichols's. 
He  is  now  a  stranger  to  you,  but  in  the  future  you 
will  make  his  acquaintance." 

I  asked  the  name,  and  it  was  given  to  me. 

"  But,  '  Ernest,'  "  I  said,  "  how  can  I  write  a  note? 
I  have  neither  paper,  pencil,  nor  light :  how  can  I 
write?" 


FLOWERS   BROUGHT   TO   MY   CELL.  369 

He  pointed  to  a  book  on  the  table,  and  said,  "  Take 
a  blank  leaf  from  that,  and  I  will  return  presently  with 
a  pencil." 

He  was  gone  perhaps  a  minute,  and  came  bringing 
a  common  lead  pencil  and  a  light  in  the  form  of  a 
luminous  cross,  —  a  soft  pure  light,  like  that  of  the 
planets.  He  gave  me  the  pencil,  and  held  the  cross 
while  I  wrote  on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  book  a  brief  mes- 
sage, which  "Ernest"  took,  and  quickly  vanished. 
But  before  he  went  I  said,  "  '  Ernest'  dear,  where  did 
you  get  this  pencil?  " 

"Took  it  without  leave,"  he  answered;  "and  I 
shall  leave  it  with  }7ou  to  return." 

My  first  idea  was  to  conceal  it,  as  prisoners  are  not 
allowed  to  have  such  things  ;  but,  as  we  and  our  cells 
were  thoroughly  searched  every  week,  I  knew  it  would 
be  found.     So  I  left  it  on  the  table. 

Next  morning,  when  my  warder  entered  the  cell,  she 
saw  the  pencil,  and  asked  where  I  got  it.  I  thought 
the  best  way  was  to  tell  her  the  truth  :  so  I  said,  "  One 
of  my  angels  brought  it." 

She  smiled  incredulously  and  said,  "  Then  we  ought 
to  detain  your  angel,  for  he  has  stolen  my  pencil. ' '  She 
looked  at  it.  "  That  is  my  pencil,"  she  said,  "  which 
I  certainly  locked  up  in  my  table-drawer  when  I  left 
the  prison  last  night.     I  don't  know  any  thing  about 


370  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PEISON. 

angels  ;  but  I  Tcnoiv  that  that  is  my  pencil,  and  I  had 
better  not  find  it  in  your  possession  again."  x 

1  On  the  night  of  the  23d  of  September,  1881,  there  was  a  seance  at  my 
house,  32  Fopstone  Road,  South  Kensington,  which  is  about  two  miles  "as 
the  crow  flies,"  from  the  Tothill  Fields  prison.  The  medium  was  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Eglintou;  and  one  of  the  sitters  was  Mr.  Sweeney,  Esq.,  then  residing 
at  Paris,  and  staying  with  us,  while  making  a  busiues6-visit  to  London. 

After  some  manifestations,  Mr.  Eglintou,  sitting  next  to  Mr.  Sweeney, 
asked  him  to  put  his  hands  together,  palm  to  palm,  so  as  to  make  an  imper- 
vious casket.  He  did  so,  and  Mr.  Eglinton  strengthened  it  by  clasping  his 
own  hands  over  those  of  Mr.  Sweeney.  In  a  few  moments,  during  which 
the  hands  of  the  medium  seemed  to  clasp  Mr.  Sweeney's  with  convulsive 
energy,  they  were  suddenly  removed,  and  he  said  to  Mr.  Sweeney,  "  Open 
your  hands."  He  did  so,  and  lying  on  the  palm  of  one  of  them  was  a  folded 
paper  about  two  inches  square.  It  was  passed  across  the  table  to  me.  I 
opened  it  out,  a  half  of  a  leaf,  which  might  have  been  torn  from  a  book, 
on  which  was  written  in  pencil,  in  the  to  me  well-known  hand  of  Susan 
Willis  Fletcher,  the  following  words  :  — 

8  p.m.,  Friday,  Sept.  23, 1881. 

My  stranger  Friend, — Professor  Hare  and  "Ernest"  have  told  me 
of  your  kindly  feeling  and  good  wishes,  and  that  yon  will  be  glad  to  receive 
a  message  through  their  agency. 

Your  sympathy  is  to  my  spirit  what  the  dew  is  to  parched  flowers. 

God  bless  you ! 

Susan  Willis  Fletcher. 

On  a  corner  of  the  reverse  is  written,  — 

Please,  dear  "Ernest,"  to  carry  this  to  Mr.  Sweeney,  who,  you  6ay,  is  at 

Mrs.  Nichols's,  and  oblige 

Bertie. 

I  certify  that  I  was  a  witness  of  the  facts  above  recorded,  and  the  paper 

is  now  in  my  possession. 

T.  L.  NICHOLS,  M.D. 
Aug.  1. 1882. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

INSTANTANEOUS  TRANSMISSION  OF  LETTERS  BETWEEN  LON- 
DON AND  CALCUTTA. MANIFESTATIONS  OF  SPIRIT- 
POWER. 

On  the  26th  of  November,  1881,  at  six  o'clock  p.m., 
rt  Ernest"  came  to  me  in  my  cell,  with  his  cross  of 
light,  and  said,  "Get  ready  to  write.  I  want  a  long 
letter ;  and,  as  you  must  write  rapidly,  we  shall  help 
you  to  write  it." 

Of  course  I  had  to  say,  as  before,  that  I  had  no 
writing-materials.  "  \Ye  have  provided  for  that,"  he 
said,  and  produced  a  lead  pencil  and  three  sheets  of 
thin  foreign  note-paper. 

"  To  whom  am  I  to  write?  "  I  asked. 

"Look  at  the  corner  of  the  paper,  and  you  will 
see." 

I  looked,  and  found  the  name  of  a  friend  of  mine, 
also  a  pet  name  he  had  given  to  me,  which  was  known 
to  no  other  person  ;  and  both  names  were  written  in  his 
own  handwriting,  as  familiar  to  me  as  my  own. 

I  began  to  write.     My  hand  was  controlled,  so  that 

371 


372  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PKISON. 

I  wrote  almost  as  rapidly  as  I  thought ;  yet  it  was  my 
own  handwriting.  After  I  began  to  write,  the  cell 
seemed  flooded  with  light ;  and  in  the  very  corner  of 
the  cell  I  distinctly  saw  the  form  of  Mr.  Eglinton,  the 
medium. 

I  filled  the  three  sheets  in  a  little  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour.  There  was  one  little  interruption. 
When  I  had  about  half  finished,  the  lead  of  the  pencil 
broke;  but  instantly  "Ernest,"  with  a  movement  of 
his  fingers  in  the  air,  produced  a  short  piece  of  pencil 
with  which  I  finished  my  letter. 

When  it  was  completed,  "Ernest"  took  the  paper 
in  one  hand,  and  placed  the  other  on  my  head,  hold- 
ing it  there  for  a  moment,  and  said,  in  words  I  seem 
to  perfectly  remember,  — 

"  Bertie  dear,  at  present,  in  this  world,  there  is  no 
redress  for  your  great  wrongs  ;  but  Heaven  has  consti- 
tuted itself  a  court  of  appeal,  in  which  God  sits  as 
your  judge,  and  the  angels  as  your  jurors  ;  and,  while 
you  are  suffering  here,  your  mediumship  shall  be  estab- 
lished, and,  ere  many  years  have  passed,  the  verdict 
of  Heaven  on  your  character  shall  be  adopted  by  the 
world.  Love  God,  be  faithful  to  us,  be  kind  to  every 
living  creature,  and  victory  shall  be  yours." 

He  vanished  with  the  luminous  cross,  the  cloud  of 
light,  the  message  I  had  written  to  my  friend,  and, 
what  was  sweeter  than  all,  the  warmth  of  his  own  dear 


TRANSMISSION   OF   LETTERS.  373 

presence,    but   leaving  with   me   a   stronger  heart,   a 
deeper  faith,  and  an  abiding  courage. 

Before  sunrise  on  the  morning  of  Nov.  28  I  again 
saw  the  light  which  usually  heralded  the  approach  of 
my  spirit-friends;  and  I  soon  saw  "Ernest,"  and  the 
beautiful  feminine  spirit  who  calls  herself  "Violet." 
She  came  to  my  hammock,  turned  down  the  clothing, 
and  placed  a  little  square  packet  over  my  heart. 
"  Read  and  be  comforted,"  she  said,  and  pressed  her 
lips  upon  my  forehead  ;  when  both  disappeared. 

In  the  morning,  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough,  I 
opened  the  packet,  and  read  and  was  comforted.  It 
was  a  letter  from  the  friend  to  whom  I  had  written  the 
long  letter  on  the  evening  of  the  26th,  acknowledging 
its  reception,  and  replying  to  its  contents. 

My  friend,  Mr.  I.  E.  Mengens,  to  whom  I  had  writ- 
ten, was  then  at  his  home  in  Calcutta,  India.  Mr. 
Eglinton  was  then  staying  with  him,  being  on  a  visit 
to  India.  The  sheets  of  paper  bore  his  stamp  ;  and 
the  one  on  the  corner  of  which  he  had  written,  Mr. 
Eolinton,  as  I  have  since  learned,  carried  for  two  or 
three  days  in  his  pocket,  and  then  placed  in  a  book. 
The  paper  was  removed  from  the  book  by  my  spirit- 
friend  "  Joey,"  who  took  two  more  sheets  from  a  writ- 
ing-desk, because  one  was  not  enough,  and  gave  them 
to  "  Ernest,"    who  brought  them  to  me. 

I  have  given  the  particulars  of  the  letter  of  Nov. 


374  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

26,  because  this  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in- 
stances I  know  of  the  exercise  of  spirit-power  in  this 
direction.  The  carrying  of  articles  for  moderate  dis- 
tances and  with  immense  rapidity  is  a  common  phe- 
nomenon. Space  and  time  seem  to  be  quite  different 
to  spirits  from  what  they  are  to  us.     With  them  — 

"  Stone  walls  do  not  a  prison  make, 
Nor  iron  bars  a  cage." 

The  passing  of  matter  through  matter  is  a  common 
phenomenon.  Books,  masses  of  flowers,  etc.,  are 
brought  into  perfectly  closed  rooms,  in  spite  of  locked 
doors  and  shuttered  windows.  Carrying  letters  and 
similar  articles  several  thousand  miles  over  land  and 
sea  in  a  few  moments  of  time  has  not  been  so  fre- 
quent. 

The  letter  to  Mr.  Mengens  of  Nov.  26  was  not  the 
first.  I  had  written  to  him,  on  the  loth  of  Januaiy, 
a  letter  to  be  sent  by  post.  On  the  20th,  when  it  had 
been  only  a  week  on  the  way,  it  was  brought  to  him 
in  Calcutta.  It  bore  the  stamps  and  dates  of  the  post- 
office,  and  must  have  been  taken  from  one  of  her 
Majesty's  letter-bags  on  the  mail-steamer.  Mr.  Men- 
gens was  in  bed,  when  he  was  told  to  turn  down  the 
clothes,  and  find  the  letter.  His  testimony,  and  that 
of  his  brother,  Mr.  Marc  Mengens,  and  of  Mr.  Eglin- 
ton,  to  the  facts  respecting  the  instantaneous  transmis- 


TRANSMISSION   OF   LETTERS.  375 

sion  of  letters  between  London  and  Calcutta  cannot  be 
impeached. 

I  must  now  give  what  may  seem  to  many  readers  a 
more  extraordinary  experience,  which  may  have  been 
in  some  way  preparatory  to  those  just  related. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  November  "  Ernest " 
came  to  me,  and  said,  "  Have  something  ready  for  us 
to-night  at  seven  o'clock."  He  said  he  wished  to  give 
a  test  of  spirit-power,  and  would  try  to  take  a  letter 
from  me  to  India.  Now,  I  knew  that  Calcutta  was 
more  than  five  thousand  miles  distant,  with  between 
five  and  six  hours  difference  of  time  between  us. 
That  a  spirit  could  be  where  he  willed  to  be  in  a  mo- 
ment, "  in  the  twinkling  of  an  e}'e,"  I  could  believe; 
but  that  a  letter,  or  any  material  object,  could  be  con- 
veyed five  or  six  thousand  miles  instantaneously,  or 
like  a  flash  of  light,  or  with  the  rapidity  of  the  elec- 
tric-telegraph, was  not  easy  to  believe.  After  all  I 
had  experienced,  I  did  not  realize  the  power  of  spirit 
over  matter.  When  "Ernest"  came  at  night,  I  had 
not  written,  and  I  had  to  confess  my  doubt  and  my 
neglect. 

He  smiled  very  wisely,  and  said,  "  I  knew  jtou 
would  not  have  it  ready  :  so  I  have  made  other  arrange- 
ments. Go  to  bed  now,  and  try  to  go  at  once  to 
sleep." 

He  vanished,  and  I  went  to  bed  as  he  desired ;  and, 


376  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PMSON. 

which  was  very  unusual,  fell  at  once  into  a  profound 
slumber.     I  seldom  got  to  sleep  before  three  a.m. 

I  slept  until  about  ten  r.M.,  when  I  again  saw 
"Ernest,"  who  began  to  make  passes  all  down  my 
body,  and  I  began  to  feel  as  I  did  before,  when  my 
spirit  went  away  from  it.  In  a  little  time  I  lost  all 
consciousness.  I  do  not  know  how  long  this  uncon- 
sciousness lasted  ;  but  the  first  thing  I  knew  was,  that  I 
was  in  a  room  quite  strange  to  me,  where  five  persons 
were  seated  at  a  table.  There  may  have  been  more, 
for  there  were  what  seemed  to  me  blank  spaces. 

"Ernest"  was  with  me,  and  said,  "As  you  would 
not  do  your  writing  at  home,  perhaps  you  will  do  it 
here.  We  who  work  only  for  results  do  not  mind  using 
what  may  seem  very  undignified  means :  so  perhaps 
you  will  not  object  to  getting  under  this  table.  We 
have  established  our  batteries  there,  and  it  is  the  only 
place  that  will  serve  you 'for  a  writing-desk." 

I  did  as  I  was  directed,  and  went  under  what  he 
called  the  table  ;  but  it  looked  like  a  little  workshop, 
with  batteries,  crucibles,  and  other  apparatus,  two 
books,  and  pencils.  But  in  trying  to  enter  this  place 
I  found  an  impediment.  "  Ernest"  smiled,  and  said, 
"  The  strongest  things  are  not  visible.  You  will  find 
that  true  the  world  over ;  but,  as  these  are  only  mag- 
netic wires  for  the  protection  of  our  conditions,  I  think 
we  shall  soon  find  an  entrance." 


TRANSMISSION   OF   LETTERS.  377 

As  he  ceased  speaking,  the  impediment  was  removed. 
Once  inside,  I  saw  the  barrier,  like  a  thin  plate  of  iron, 
dense  and  solid  now,  but  from  the  outside  invisible. 
"Ernest,"  who  seemed  to  do  easily  whatever  he  willed, 
produced  a  light,  and  gave  me  pen  and  paper,  and  I 
wrote  my  letter.  I  supposed  it  was  to  be  given  to  the 
person  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  who  was  one  of 
the  sitters  at  the  table  ;  but  no  sooner  was  it  finished 
than  "Ernest"  said  most  peremptorily,  "You  must 
come  back  at  once :  we  have  already  kept  you  too  long 
from  your  bocty." 

^Vhile  I  had  been  there,  manifestations  had  been 
going  on  around  the  table.  I  saw  "  Joe}',"  and  also 
two  very  exalted  spirits,  and  could  hear  "  Joey  "  talk- 
ing, and  at  times  he  came  into  the  little  workshop. 
I  could  also  very  plainly  hear  the  exclamations  of  the 
sitters. 

In  the  midst  of  this  my  spirit- friend  "  Dewdrop  " 
peeped  in,  and  said,  "  Oh !  I  want  you  to  know  Mrs. 
Cheetham,  she  is  such  a  nice  little  medium !  and 
Mrs.  Gordon,  who  will  in  the  future  be  among  your 
best  friends." 

I  thought  she  referred  to  two  ladies  sitting  at  the 
table.  Those  whom  I  knew  already  were  Mr.  Eglin- 
ton  the  medium,  and  Mr.  Mengens,*to  whom  I  had 
written  mj*  letter,  which  I  left  under  the  table  when 
"Ernest"  took  me  away.     Instantly,  as  it  seemed  to 


378  TWELVE  MONTHS   IK  PRISON. 

me,  I  was  in  my  cell,  and  saw  m}T  booty  lying  in  my 
hammock.  It  seemed  bad  enough  to  re-enter  my  cell, 
so  small,  so  cold  and  dismal ;  but  the  idea  of  re-enter- 
ing my  body  was  still  more  repugnant.  It  was  doubly 
a  prison,  a  prison  in  a  prison  ;  and  I  refused  to  go. 
No  one  can  understand  what  I  felt  who  has  not  had 
a  similar  experience,  and  known  how  imprisoned  a 
free  spirit  can  be  in  its  "  tenement  of  clay."  It  was 
so  unpleasant  to  me,  that  when  "Ernest"  urgently 
appealed  to  me  to  exercise  my  will  to  re-enter  and 
re-animate  my  body,  I  told  him  I  had  no  such  inclina- 
tion, and  could  not  will  it. 

"  Ernest "  seemed  disturbed  and  agitated,  and  sum- 
moned six  other  spirits  to  his  aid.  I  recognized  one 
of  them  as  my  husband's  "  control,"  "  Winona." 
These  spirits  seemed  to  magnetize  my  bod}\  Probably 
only  a  few  seconds  elapsed,  but  it  seemed  an  hour, 
when  I  began  to  feel  that  I  should  not  be  obliged  to 
re-enter  my  body ;  and  this  feeling  was  accompanied 
by  such  an  atmosphere  of  sweetness  and  exhilaration, 
and  such  a  calm,  placid  happiness  as  I  had  not  felt 
since  I  left  my  husband  in  America,  and  came  to  meet 
my  trial  in  London.  But  as  my  happiness  increased, 
so  did  the  trouble  of  "  Ernest ;  "  and  he  held  a  little 
conference  with'  "  Winona,"  when  she  quickly  dis- 
appeared. 

Every   instant   I  grew  more   light,  more   buoyant. 


TRANSMISSION   OF   LETTERS.  379 

The  prison-walls  vanished,  and  I  could  see  sky  and 
moon  and  stars  ;  clouds  did  not  impede  my  vision  ;  and 
beyond  them  were  legions  of  angels,  and  I  felt  a 
strong  desire  to  join  them,  which  seemed  very  easy  to 
do ;  for  I  felt  myself  rising,  rising,  in  an  ecstasy  of 
freedom,  which  no  one  can  ever  feel  whose  feet  have 
not  been  raised  from  off  the  earth  by  this  soul  eleva- 
tion. This  earth,  and  all  its  conditions  and  relations, 
seemed  annihilated,  as  if  the  whole  quality  of  my  mind 
had  been  changed.  Even  the  memory  of  earthly  ex- 
periences seemed  fading  out  of  my  mind. 

But  as  I  rose  in  the  air  I  saw  myself  still  connected, 
by  a  line  of  light  fine  as  a  silken  thread,  to  my  poor 
body.    It  became  finer  and  finer,  lengthening  as  I  rose. 

While  in  this  perfect  entrancement  of  freedom,  I  saw 
"  Winona,"  and  with  her  my  husband.  He  seemed 
to  look  at  my  body,  and  take  it  in  his  arms.  He  cried, 
44  0  Bertie,  Bertie  !  come  back  to  me  !  Are  you  really 
dead?  Has  that  hideous  woman  become  your  mur- 
deress ? ' ' 

He  held  my  poor  body  closer  to  his  heart,  and  kissed 
my  face,  and  I  wondered  how  he  could  caress  so  poor 
a  thing  as  my  cast-off  bod)7.  But,  as  he  continued  to 
implore  me  to  come  back,  I  felt  the  little  line  of  light 
tighten,  and  then  it  seemed  to  be  pulling  at  my  heart; 
My  inclination  to  reach  him  became  stronger  than  my 
desire  to  go  to  the  angels  ;    and  so  my  spirit  glided 


380  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

back  into  my  body,  and  I  found  myself  alone  in  my 
cell. 

This  was  on  the  20th  of  November.  At  Christmas, 
in  accordance  with  prison-rules,  I  received  a  letter 
from  my  husband,  in  which  he  gave  me  an  account  of 
his  lectures,  and  in  which  he  wrote  :  — 

"  Sometimes  I  have  thought  that  evil  spirits  were  conspiring 
with  our  enemies  to  torture  and  destroy  us.  On  the  20th  of 
November,  when  I  was  reading  a  book  you  gave  me,  late  at 
night,  suddenly  'Winona'  came  to  me,  and  said,  'Shut  your 
eyes,  Willie,  and  go  to  sleep.  You  have  read  long  enough.'  I 
put  down  my  book,  closed  my  eyes,  and  instantly  I  seemed  to 
be  in  a  little  white  stone  cell,  and  you  seemed  to  be  there-;  but 
I  thought  you  were  dead.  I  folded  you  in  my  arms,  and  cried 
aloud  to  you  to  come  back ;  but  it  seemed  as  if  you  would 
never  come.  At  last  I  fell  on  my  knees,  and  felt  that  that 
hideous  woman  had  been  your  murderess;  and  I  called  out  in 
despair,  '  O  God !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? '  At  last  I  felt 
your  breath  upon  my  cheek;  and,  bursting  into  tears  of  joy  at 
your  restoration,  I  felt  myself  whirled  through  the  air  by 
'  Winona,'  and  then  resting  upon  my  bed.  As  she  was  passing 
from  the  room,  she  said,  '  You  have  saved  Bertie's  life;  but  we 
were  obliged  to  take  you  away  from  her,  for  she  can  bear  no 
more.'  What  can  it  mean?  Are  you  ill  ?  or  was  it  only  a  vision 
sent  to  torture  me  ?  * 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

FURTHER    EXPERIENCES. 

Ox  the  night  before  Mr.  Eglinton  departed  for 
India,  "  Ernest"  came  to  me  and  said,  "  I  want  my  last 
work  in  London  before  we  go  to  be  for  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Nichols  ;  and  I  wish  you  to  write  a  note  to  one  of  them 
to-day,  and  place  it  beneath  the  altar  in  the  chapel. 
Write  to  the  other  also,  as  near  noon  to-morrow  as 
circumstances  will  permit,  and  put  it  in  the  same  place. 
I  will  take  them  when  I  can."  I  did  as  directed.  At 
night  I  looked  where  I  had  concealed  the  little  notes, 
and  they  had  vanished,  when  and  how,  I  had  no 
means  of  knowing  ;  but  Dr.  Nichols  has  since  written 
to  me :  — 

"Two  little  notes  in  your  well-known  handwriting  were 
punctually  delivered.  Sitting  in  my  study,  Mr.  Eglinton, 
'under  control,'  took  a  slate,  and  held  it  horizontally  above  his 
head  near  the  gaslight.  Something  fell  upon  it.  On  his  lower- 
ing it,  I  found  your  little  note  addressed  to  Mrs.  Nichols.  A 
little  after,  Mr.  Eglinton  asked  me  to  come  with  him  near  my 
writing-desk.     He  put  his  open  hand  into  the  obscurity  under 

381 


382  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PEISON. 

the  desk  for  a  moment;  and  on  taking  it  out,  there  lay  or  it  a 
welcome  note  from  '  Bertie.'  " 

In  the  inOnth  of  November  "Ernest"  came  to  me 
one  day,  seemingly  in  haste,  and  said,  "A  great  trial 
awaits  dear  Mrs.  Nichols.  A  calamity  will  befall  her 
which  we  have  no  power  to  avert ;  but  we  wish  to  pre- 
pare her  by  placing  every  means  of  strength  which  we 
have  at  her  disposal.  I  want  you  to  send  her  a  lock 
of  your  hair,  dear  ;  and  I  am  sure  it  will  comfort  you 
to  know  that  in  her  hour  of  greatest  distress  it  will 
afford  her  comfort  and  relief," 

Of  course  I  was  glad  to  do  any  thing  possible  for 
my  dear  friend  wTho  had  so  faithfully  stood  by  me  in 
all  my  trial;  and  "Ernest,"  instead  of  cutting  off  a 
lock,  as  before,  with  a  poniard,  seemed  to  remove  it 
by  imperceptible  dematerialization.1 

Letters  were  taken  from  me  by  my  spirit-friends  to 
Mr.  Eglinton,  to  Capt.  James  (a  retired  army  officer 
living  in  Gower  Street,  who  has  been  for  many  years 
a  most  intelligent  investigator  of  the  phenomena  of 
mesmerism  and  Spiritualism),  and  to  Signor  Rondi, 
whom  I  believe  to  have  been  sincerely  sorry  for  what 
he  was  induced  to  do  against  me  in  America,  over- 
come,  as  I  believe  he   was,   by  Dr.   Mack  or   other 

1  I  found,  upon  inquiry,  that  Mrs.  Nichols  received  this  lock  of  hair,  two 
miles  distant,  just  after  she  had  broken  her  thigh,  and  while  the  surgeon  was 
setting  it. 


FURTHER   EXPERIENCES.  383 

machinations.  Signor  Rondi  wrote  me  a  long  letter, 
which  was  brought  to  me  by  ''Ernest."  My  reply 
was  taken  to  him  in  the  same  way,  and  received'  in  the 
presence  of  Mr.  Eglinton.  I  am  sorry  for  his  fault, 
and  believe  that  he  is  sorry  also. 

The  manner  in  which  Mr.  Eglinton  received  one  of 
my  missives  was  curious.  He  was  going  along  the 
Holborn  Viaduct  in  an  omnibus,  when  a  spirit-voice 
directed  him  to  alight,  and  go  to  some  quiet  room.  He 
stopped  the  omnibus,  and  went  into  the  great  hotel  of 
Spiers  and  Ponds,  and  into  a  vacant  room,  where,  feel- 
ing something  touch  his  thigh,  he  put  down  his  hand, 
and  found  a  letter  which  had  just  been  written  by  me 
in  my  cell  in  prison.  This  is  his  account  of  the  matter 
related  to  me  and  to  others. 

I  have  been  asked  how  I  could  reconcile  it  to  my 
conscience  to  write  letters  to  friends  in  England, 
America,  and  India,  when  I  knew  that  it  was  against 
the  rules  of  the  prison  to  write  at  all,  except  at  certain 
appointed  times  and  under  supervision. 

I  answer  that  it  takes  two  to  make  a  bargain.  I  was 
unjustly  convicted,  unjustly  imprisoned.  It  was  brute 
force  alone  that  placed  and  kept  me  in  prison.  I  vio- 
lated no  compact,  for  I  made  none.  My  liberty  had 
been  taken  from  me  wrongfully,  and  all  my  rights 
trampled  upon.  I  think,  therefore,  that  I  had  a  per- 
fect right  to  avail  myself  of  every  amelioration  of  the 


384  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

outrage  inflicted  upon  me  which  mortals  or  spirits  could 
offer  me. 

And  wh}T,  it  may  be  asked,  did  not  the  spirits  who 
did  so  much  for  you  do  more  ?  Why  did  they  not  take 
you  out  of  prison,  instead  of  taking  letters,  and  locks 
of  hair? 

The  reason  they  did  not  was  because  I  would  not 
give  my  consent.  They  believed  the}7  could  do  it,  and 
wished  to  make  the  attempt.  The  power  of  spirits 
over  matter  depends  upon  conditions.  Spirits  are  not 
infallible  or  omnipotent.  When  conditions  are  favora- 
ble, they  can  do  very  wonderful  things.  Close  by  this 
prison,  in  Ashley  Place,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
the  Earl  of  Balcarres  (then  Lord  Lindsa}')  and  the 
Earl  of  Dunraven  (then  Lord  Adare),  Mr.  D.  D.  Home 
was  carried  out  of  one  window,  and  brought  in  at 
another,  floating  in  the  air  in  a  horizontal  position, 
about  seventy  feet  from  the  pavement.  I  do  not  doubt 
that  I  could  have  been  taken  from  my  cell  over  the  wall 
about  thirty  feet  high  that  encompasses  the  prison. 

A  time  was  appointed  to  do  it.  One  of  my  friends 
was  directed  to  wait  for  me  at  a  particular  place  out- 
side the  wall,  and  waited  there  an  hour.  The  spirit 
"  Ernest "  came  and  unlocked  my  cell,  and  wished  to 
take  me.     I  refused  to  go. 

The  reason  why  I  refused,  under  the  influence,  I 
believe,  of  the  wisest  of  my  spirit-friends,  was  this. 


FURTHER   EXPERIENCES.  385 

My  warder  and  other  prison  officers  would  have  got 
into  serious  trouble.  Warders  and  porters  would  have 
been  discharged,  and  perhaps  punished.  They  would 
have,  lost  their  pensions,  and  the  public  would  have 
believed  that  they  had  been  bribed  to  assist  me  to 
escape.  I  should  have  been  arrested,  or  rather  I  should 
have  gone  at  once  to  the  home  office,  and  given  myself 
up.  I  came  voluntarily  to  England  to  be  tried,  and  I 
should  not  have  run  away  from  any  punishment  the 
"law"  thought  proper  to  inflict.  I  did  not  come  to 
England  to  run  away  again,  nor  go  to  prison  in  order 
to  escape.  For  all  these  reasons,  when  "Ernest" 
unlocked  my  cell,  and  offered  to  take  me  bodily  over 
the  walls,  I  refused  to  be  taken.  To  go  ever  so  far 
in  spirit,  leaving  my  poor  body  in  my  cell,  did  no  harm 
to  any  one.     There  is  no  prison  for  the  soul. 

My  friend  outside  wanted  the  manifestation  for  the 
good  he  thought  it  would  do  to  Spiritualism.  Yes,  if 
any  one  but  a  Spiritualist  could  have  believed  it. 
Probably  my  friends  in  and  out  of  the  prison  would 
have  been  prosecuted  for  aiding  my  escape,  and  I 
should  have  been  condemned  to  a  longer  and  more 
severe  imprisonment.  It  was  better  to  quietly  stay  out 
my  time,  and  do  my  appointed  work.  If  I  had  got 
out  of  England,  I  could  not  have  returned.  Believing 
that  I  had  a  work  to  do  in  England  for  Spiritualism, 
and  also  for  prisoners  of  every  grade,  I  declined  to 


386  TWELVE  MONTHS   IX  PRISON. 

accept  freedom  at  the  price  of  perpetual  banishment 
from  a  countiy,  which,  in  spite  of  much  injustice,  I  still 
love,  and  still  desire  to  serve  ;  for  England,  no  Amer- 
ican of  the  English  race  can  forget,  is  the  country 
of  our  ancestors.  Her  history  is  our  history  ;  and  I, 
who  have  seen  and  felt  her  hardest,  roughest  side,  can 
still  say^  with  her  patriotic  poet,  — 

"  England,  with  all  thy  faults  I  love  thee  still." 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

RELEASE    OF    A    PRISONER. CELEBRATING    A    BIRTHDAY. 

There  was  little  chance  to  get  acquainted  with  my 
fellow-prisoners.  I  could  see  them  at  exercise,  and 
a  portion  of  them  every  day  at  chapel ;  but  we  were 
supposed  never  to  speak  to  each  other.  Locked  in  our 
cells,  a  separate  cell  for  each  prisoner,  in  utter  solitude 
and  silence  for  twenty-three  hours  out  of  every  twenty- 
four,  what  chance  had  we  to  get  acquainted  ? 

None,  it  seemed  to  me,  for  any  good ;  some  for  evil. 
A  drunken  old  creature  who  had  been  in  prison  twenty, 
fifty,  in  some  cases  more  than  a  hundred,  times,  could 
manage  to  get  beside  a  girl  of  fifteen  at  exercise  or  in 
chapel,  and  further  corrupt  her,  and  arrange  for  future 
meetings. 

The  prisoners  were  not  all  drunken  or  bad.  Our 
chaplain,  who  knew  his  flock  as  no  other  person  could 
know  it,  believed  that  many  were  "  more  sinned  against 
than  sinning,"  and  that  in  many  cases  of  apparent 
crime  there  was  no  moral  guilt.  A  poor  working- 
woman,  for  example,  with  a  drunken  husband  and  hun- 

387 


388  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

gry  children,  is  tempted  to  pledge  some  garment  she  is 
making  to  get  bread,  and  then  is  not  able  to  redeem  it, 
because  her  husband  spends  his  wages  at  the  public- 
house.  Under  these  circumstances  she  is  sent  for  two 
or  three  months  to  prison.  It  was  an  irregularity,  an 
indiscretion,  but  not  intentionally  a  crime. 

We  had  one  poor  woman,  sixty  years  old,  who  had 
been  sentenced  to  nine  months'  imprisonment,  whom  I 
could  not  look  upon  as  a  criminal.  Her  quiet  behavior, 
her  good  temper,  and  kindness  to  everybody  with  whom 
she  came  in  contact,  made  her  respected  and  liked. 

One  day  she  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  and  was 
taken  to  the  "  sick-cells."  In  a  fortnight  she  came 
back  to  her  old  quarters,  considered  cured  ;  but  we 
who  knew  her  did  not  think  her  well.  A  fortnight  later 
she  was  failing  visibly,  and  one  afternoon  she  was 
taken  again  to  the  infirmary.  The  next  day  she  died. 
I  afterwards  heard  that  the  coroner  received  notice, 
according  to  the  regulations.  A  jury  was  summoned 
from  the  neighboring  public-houses.  The  testimony  of 
the  physician  was  given,  and,  in  accordance  with  it,  a 
verdict  of  "  death  from  old  age  "  —  old  age  at  sixty  ! 
We  who  had  watched  her  knew  that  she  had  died 
from  the  exhaustion  of  grief,  cold,  and  an  insufficient 
and  inappropriate  diet. 

[I  had  for  three  months  been  unable  to  eat  brown 
bread  before  I  was  given  white,   notwithstanding  my 


RELEASE   OF    A   PRISONER.  389 

warder  had  taken  my  antasted  bread,  and  reported  my 
case  several  times  to  the  doctor.] 

On  the  day  she  died,  she  was  asked  if  she  had  any 
relations  or  friends  she  wished  to  see. 

"Oh,  dear!"  she  said,  "I  should  like  to  see  my 
daughter  so  much ;  but  she  is  a  widow  with  five  little 
children  to  take  care  of.  It  was  trying  to  get  money 
to  pay  for  her  husband's  funeral  that  brought  me  here. 
She  lives  at  Norwood.  She  can't  walk  so  far,  and  she 
is  too  poor  to  come  bjT  rail :  so  don't  send  for  her." 

So,  for  lack  of  half  a  crown  or  less,  the  poor  woman 
died  without  seeing  one  soul  she  knew.  The}T  asked 
her  what  name  she  would  be  buried  under. 

"The  name  I  gave  when  I  came  here,"  she  said, 
"is  a  false  one,  but  use  that.  '  God  knows  who  I 
am,  and  it  won't  matter  to  anybody  else." 

Refusing  to  give  her  correct  name  seemed  to  me 
a  sublime  thoughtfulness  for  the  feelings  of  others, 
worthy  of  a  higher  station  and  a  better  fate.  Her 
death  made  a  deep  impression  on  me ;  and,  though 
she  had  never  spoken  to  me,  I  wTas  very  sorry  for 
her. 

On  the  night  she  died  I  was  indeed  greatly  dis- 
tressed ;  and,  instead  of  going  to  bed  at  the  usual  time, 
I  lay  my  head  on  my  stool,  and  thought  that  this  poor 
old  prisoner  was  somebody's  mother,  and  yet  that  the 
Christian  world,   the  philanthropic   world,  the  tender- 


390  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

hearted  world  all  about  me,  was  just  as  merry  as  if  no 
such  tragedies  were  ever  enacted. 

While  I  sat  having  a  little  cry  all  to  myself,  I  heard 
the  cheerful  voice  of  my  friend  "  Joey  "  saying,  "  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  how  do  you  do?  Rouse  up,  rouse  up  !  We 
have  brought  Willie  to  see  you." 

Of  course  I  "  roused  up  ;  "  and,  sure  enough,  there 
stood  Willie  Eglinton  —  to  all  appearance  the  real, 
living,  tangible  Willie  —  in  my  locked  cell.  He  held 
out  his  hand  to  me,  and  I  grasped  it,  as  solid  and  real 
as  ever  was  his  own;  and  he  said,  "Well,  Bertie,  I 
went  to  bed  and  tried  to  go  to  sleep  ;  but  I  couldn't 
get  you  out  of  my  mind.  Everybody  else  has  been 
having  letters,  and  I  don't  see  why  I  should  not  have 
one :  so  I  have  come  to  get  it  myself." 

I  smiled,  and  asked,  "Why  do  you  want  a  letter, 
now  you  have  got  me?" 

He  said,  "  They  are  talking  in  Calcutta  [where  he 
was  at  this  time]  about  the  '  Mystic  Brotherhood ; ' 
and  '  Ernest '  has  told  me  that  they  are  not  the  only 
brothers  in  their  doings,  but  that  the  power  by  which 
their  miracles  are  done  is  more  common  than  is  sup- 
posed ;  and  he  wished  me  to  make  this  experiment  of 
coming  to  you,  and  here  I  am." 

"  Well,  I  am  sincerely  glad  to  see  you.  If  you  want 
a  letter,  shall  I  write  it  now?  " 

"  Yes,  please.     I  want  to  take  it  back  with  me  ;  and 


RELEASE   OF   A  PRISONER.  391 

to  assure  myself  that  I  really  came  for  it,  and  that 
4  Ernest '  did  not  bring  it,  I  am  going  to  put  it  in  a  par- 
ticular place  when  I  get  back,  where  I  shall  be  obliged 
to  go  and  get  it  after  I  have  re-entered  my  body." 

As  I  chanced  to  have  the  means  of  writing  by  me,  I 
wrote  a  little  note,  and  gave  it  to  him,  as  he  desired. 
He  departed;  and,  an  instant  after,  "Ernest"  ap- 
peared. He  said,  "  It  was  not  alone  to  give  Willie 
this  experience  of  a  marvellous  phenomenon  that  we 
brought  him  here,  but  it  was  more  to  get  strength,  and 
give  assistance  to  the  poor,  unhappy  spirit  whose  de- 
parture has  so  much  grieved  you." 

At  another  time,  in  October,  on  the  occasion  of  my 
husband's  birthday,  my  spirit-friends  brought  a  piece 
of  cake  and  a  glass  of  wine  into  my  cell,  which  they 
wished  me  to  take  for  the  nourishment  it  would  give 
me,  and  in  honor  of  the  occasion.     My  teetotal  friends 
will  object  to  the  wine  ;  but,  as  it  had  probably  been 
dematerialized  before  crossing  the  Atlantic,  the  alco- 
hol may  have  been  left  out  of  the  subsequent  materi- 
alization.    It  was  given  me  in  a  glass  with  a  broken 
stem.     When  "Winona"  brought  it  to  me,  she  said, 
"  Mr.  Fletcher  wished  this  to  be  brought  to  you." 
44  In  a  broken  wineglass?  "  I  asked. 
"Oh,  that  was    an    accident!"    said  "Winona;" 
44  but  the  wine  was  magnetized,  and  we  could  not  wait 
to  get  another  glass." 


392  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

The  matter  was  more  fully  explained  in  a  subsequent 
letter  from  my  husband.     He  wrote  :  — 

"  My  birthday,  as  you  can  well  imagine,  was  not  the  bright, 
happy  little  affair  it  used  to  be;  and  I  think  that  at  no  time 
ill  your  whole  tiresome  imprisonment  have  I  missed  you  more 
than  I  have  to-day.  I  have  received  many  gifts;  many  have 
called  to  wish  me  'happy  returns;'  but  your  head  resting  on 
my  shoulder,  and  your  eyes  looking  into  mine,  would  have 
been  of  infinite  comfort  to  me.  So  at  night,  after  every  one 
had  departed,  I  sat  down  to  have  a  little  cake  and  wine  with 
you.  It  may  have  been  a  foolish  fancy;  but  I  thought  that 
somehow,  if  I  broke  the  cake,  and  filled  the  glass,  for  your 
dear  sake,  you  might  be  able  to  know  of  my  remembrance  of 
you.  So  I  left  the  cake  and  the  glass  of  wine  on  the  table 
when  I  went  to  bed.     In  the  morning  they  had  disappeared. 

"  If  the  servants  or  any  one  had  been  in  the  room,  I  should 
have  believed  that  human  hands  had  removed  them;  but  I 
carefully  locked  the  door,  and  am  quite  certain  that  no  one 
entered  the  room  until  I  did.  And  now  comes  the  strangest 
part  of  the  matter.  The  night  after,  just  as  I  was  going  to 
sleep,  I  felt  something  cold  against  my  face,  and  heard 
'  Winona'  say,  '  Don't  be  cross.  I  have  taken  Bertie  the  wine; 
but  I  broke  the  glass,  and  have  brought  back  only  the  top  of 
it.'  And,  surely  enough,  on  striking  a 'light,  I  found,  so  far 
as  I  can  judge,  the  wineglass  that  was  missing,  but  in  a  muti- 
lated and  cherubic  condition." 

It  was  well  for  me,  perhaps,  that  "Winona"  took 
back  the  glass,  though  one  cannot  see  the  need  of  tak- 
ing it  such  a  distance.     It  might  have  been  dropped 


RELEASE   OF   A   PRISONER.  393 

just  over  the  wall.  I  had  wondered  what  I  could  do 
with  it,  and  rolled  it  up  in  my  bedclothes.  At  night 
I  put  it  under  my  pillow.  The  next  morning  it  was 
gone.  How  it  came  to  be  broken  was  never  explained 
to  us.1 

1  As  there  are  differences  of  opinion,  even  among  Spiritualists,  respect- 
ing these  manifestations,  I  add  the  following  testimony  :  — 

Taking  solid  objects  into  or  out  of  a  tightly  closed  room  is  a  common 
manifestation,  which  has  been  witnessed  by  hundreds,  and  perhaps  by  thou- 
sands. The  late  Sergeant  Cox  told  me,  that  sitting  with  Mrs.  Guppy  in  his 
library,  with  every  door  and  window  securely  fastened,  great  masses  of 
flowers  —  "  a  cartload,"  as  he  expressed  it  —  had  been  poured  upon  the  table. 

I  have  often  seen  such  things  on  a  smaller  scale.  On  two  occasions  I  have 
seen  a  materialized  spirit  eat  cake,  and  drink  wine.  Once  at  my  own  house 
in  Malvern,  "Joey,"  presiding  at  a  birthday  festival,  sat  at  a  round  table  in 
the  centre  of  the  room,  in  a  good  light,  talking  with  us,  and  cut  a  birthday, 
cake,  and  poured  out  glasses  of  wine,  which  he  brought  to  each  person  in  the 
room.  He  then,  in  sight  of  all,  cut  a  good  slice  of  cake  for  himself,  and  ate 
it,  and  then,  pouring  out  a  glass  of  wine,  gave  aud  drank  "the  toast  of  the 
evening,"  —  "  long  life,  health  and  happiness  "  to  his  hostess,  adding,  "  God 
bless  you,  and  give  you  strength  to  do  your  work!"  Mr.  Eglinton,  who 
resided  with  us  for  some  years  at  Malvern,  was  the  medium. 

The  other  occasion  was  at  a  stance  at  the  studio  of  Signor  Rondi  in  Mon- 
tague Place,  London,  at  which  Miss  Katie  Cook  was  medium.  The  spirit 
"  Lily,"  whom  I  have  seen,  heard,  and  felt  several  times,  there  and  else- 
where, perfectly  satisfying  myself  of  her  distinct  personality,  near  the  close 
of  the  Htance  said,  "Rondi,  I  want  some  cake  and  wine."  —  "Very  well, 
•  Lily  : '  there  is  some  in  my  cupboard.  You  have  only  to  go  and  get  it."  — 
"  No,  Rondi,  you  must  get  it  for  me,"  said  she;  and  he  went  and  got  her  a 
glass  of  wine  and  some  thin  sweet  biscuits.  She  came  quite  near  me,  drank 
the  wine,  bit  off  a  piece  of  one  of  the  biscuits,  and  handed  me  the  remainder. 

II  Lily  "  allowed  me  to  examine  her  hands,  arras,  and  feet  by  touch  as  well 
as  by  sight,  to  feel  her  pulse,  to  place  my  hands  upon  her  and  her  medium 
at  the  same  time;  aud  I  have  her  photograph  taken  by  daylight.     Whatever 


394  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

frauds  there  may  have  been  in  respect  to  pretended  materializations,  I  have 
had  with  five  or  six  mediums,  and  as  to  twelve  or  more  spirits,  the  most 
absolute  proofs  of  reality,  distinct  personality,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  of 
identity.  I  can  as  well  doubt  my  own  existence  as  that  I  have  seen,  heard, 
and  felt  the  materialized  forms  of  those  whom  I  once  knew  in  this  world, 
and  of  others  with  whom  I  have  become  acquainted  only  as  spirits.  I  hope 
to  be  able  to  give  before  long  a  full  and  circumstantial  account  of  these 
experiences.  —  T.  L.  Nichols,  M.D. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

MEMORIALS   AND    PETITIONS    TO    THE    HOME    SECRETARY. 

The  first  impulse  of  my  friends  in  America  and  in 
England  was  to  appeal  to  the  home  secretary,  the  dis- 
penser of  the  pardoning-power  of  the  crown,  as  well 
as  the  punishing-power,  to  release  me  from  prison. 
Various  Spiritualist  societies  sent  resolutions  of  con- 
fidence and  sympathy,  and  memorials  or  petitions,  for 
which  I  wish  to  express  my  gratitude.  But  I  had  at 
no  time  the  least  hope  in  the  success  of  any  effort  for 
my  release.  Such  efforts  interested  me  only  as  ex- 
pressions of  personal  friendship  and  confidence. 

The  memorial  presented  to  the  home  secretary  by 
Dr.  Nichols,  which  he  also  printed,  and  somewhat 
widely  circulated,  which  was  also  reprinted  by  a  lady- 
friend,  was  useful  in  presenting  many  new  facts  to  its 
readers,  and  in  giving  some  of  the  suppressed  evidence, 
especialty  the  important  affidavits  of  Capt.  Lindmaik 
and  Mr.  Morton. 

The  reasons  why  no  memorial,  and  no  amount  of 
proof  of  the  perjuries  of  the  chief  witness,  could  be  of 

395 


396  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

any  avail  with  the  home  secretaiy,  are  not  far  to  seek. 
His  subordinates  had  taken  up  the  prosecution  because 
it  was  a  sensational  case,  in  which  the  press  and  the 
public  were  greatly  interested.  The  chief  of  a  depart- 
ment, as  a  rule,  sustains  the  action  of  his  subordinates. 
The  government  itself  believed  me  guilty,  and  had 
determined  to  punish  me. 

The  only  possible  way  to  get  Sir  William  Harcourt, 
acting  for  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  to  grant  me  a  par- 
don, was  to  convince  him  of  the  reality  of  Spiritual- 
ism ;  but  I  do  not  expect  an  avowal  of  such  a  belief, 
at  present,  from  a  home  secretaiy,  who  perhaps  aspires 
to  the  place  of  lord-chancellor,  —  from  one  who  now 
exercises  the  pardoning  power,  and  possibly  hopes  to 
become  the  conscience-keeper  of  the  Queen. 

The  memorial  had  no  effect  upon  the  home  secre- 
tary :  elsewhere  it  did  its  work.  In  the  preface  to  the 
printed  edition,  Dr.  Nichols  said,  — 

"I  propose. to  send  copies  to  the  witnesses  who  have  volun- 
teered their  testimony;  to  friends  of  Mrs.  Fletcher,  in  England 
and  America,  who  in  this  relentless  persecution,  and  failure 
of  justice,  have  had  entire  faith  in  her  innocence;  to  Spiritual- 
ist societies,  for  the  information  of  their  members;  to  a  few 
liberal  members  of  Parliament,  who  may  see  the  need  of 
changes  in  the  law,  under  which  the  most  honest  man  or 
woman  may  be  punished  as  a  rogue  and  vagabond ;  and  to  the 
conductors  of  public  journals,  who,  in  entire  ignorance  of  the 
facts  of  the  case,  took  the  opportunity  to  denounce  a  woman 


MEMORIALS   AND   PETITIONS.  397 

in  prison,  because  she  was  a  Spiritualist,  as  they  would  not 
have  done  had  she  been  undoubtedly  guilty  of  murder. 

"I  have  taken  this  perhaps  unusual  course,  because  this  is 
an  unusual  case.  The  articles  in  hundreds  of  newspapers, 
echoing  the  charge  and  sentence,  showed  how  deep,  violent, 
unreasoning,  and  vindictive  is  the  prejudice  against  Spiritual- 
ism. There  was  absolutely  no  proof  against  Mrs".  Fletcher  of 
false  pretences.  The  fact  that  she  was  a  Spiritualist  was 
enough  for  the  court,  the  jury,  and  the  press. 

"It  is,  therefore,  not  enough  that  the  proofs  of  the  inno- 
cence of  Mrs.  Fletcher  should  be  laid  before  her  Majesty's  Sec- 
retary of  State  for  the  Home  Department,  so  that  she  may  be 
released  from  prison.  It  is  right  that  all  who  have  unjustly 
condemned  her  should  know  the  real  facts  of  this  '  extraor- 
dinary' case,  and  see  how  easy  it  is — now,  as  in  past  ages, 
under  prejudice  and  excitement  —  to  use  the  forms  of  law  to 
perpetrate  cruel  wrongs. 

"Hear  the  other  side.  Eead  the  testimony  of  Capt.  Land- 
mark, of  Mr.  Morton,  of  the  other  witnesses  to  facts  and  to 
character.  Consider,  that,  among  the  millions  who  believe  in 
the  reality  of  spiritual  phenomena,  there  are  men  and  women  as 
intelligent  and  veracious  as  among  those  who  doubt  or  deny  it, 
and  that  those  who  testify  to  the  truth  of  Spiritualism  have  exam- 
ined the  facts,  while  those  who  deny  it  have  refused  tc  examine, 
and,  as  in  this  case,  have  condemned  without  a  hearing. 

"I  have  been  an  investigator  and  a  witness  of  the  phe- 
nomena called  spiritualistic  for  more  than  twenty-five  years. 
I  am  neither  a  knave  nor  a  fool.  I  know  what  I  have  seen 
and  heard  and  felt,  as  I  know  any  other  fact  in  nature.  The 
man  who  does  not  know  a  fact,  who  has  neglected  or  refused 
to  examine  it,  has  no  right  to  dispute  *t,  or  to  condemn  one 
who  knows  it  to  be  true,  or  believes  it  upon  proper  testimony. 


398  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PEISON. 

"It  is  the  intolerance  of  ignorance  that  is  the  basis  of  per- 
secution, and  has  caused  the  failure  of  justice  in  this  one  of 
many  cases  where  people  are  wrongly  condemned  by  public 
opinion,  or  in  courts  of  law. 

"I  ask  for  simple  justice  to  all  Spiritualists,  and  only  for 
justice  to  my  friend  Mrs.  Fletcher." 

The  memorial  contains  many  of  the  facts  I  have 
already  related,  and  was  accompanied  by  the  proper 
testimony.  A  few  paragraphs  of  the  body  of  the 
memorial  are  printed  in  the  Appendix. 

The  testimony  appended  to  this  memorial  seemed  to 
me  abundant  and  conclusive.  I  give  the  home  secre- 
tary the  credit  of  never  having  read  one  line  of  it.  He 
was  very  busy  about  this  time  making  political  speeches, 
and  was  nicknamed  by  "  Punch  "  the  "  Never- at-home- 
Secretary."  It  would  have  been  a  pity  to  deprive 
great  popular  assemblies  of  the  benefit  of  listening 
to  his  eloquence ;  but  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  might 
also  be  a  pity  that  prisoners  unjustly  sentenced  to 
penal  servitude  or  the  gallows  should  not  have  some 
one  to  read  their  memorials  or  petitions. 

With  the  testimony  in  the  memorial  should  have 
been  included  the  following  affidavit  of  James  McGeary, 
alias  Dr.  Mack,  who  took  so  prominent  a  part,  as 
nearest  friend  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  in  my  prosecution 
in  America  and  England ;  but  it  came  to  me  too  late 
to  be  so  included. 


MEMORIALS   AND   PETITIONS.  399 

My  friend  and  former  legal  adviser,  John  W.  Mahan, 
Esq.,  of  Boston,  wrote  to  me,  under  date  of  Nov.  12, 
18S1,  the  following  letter:  — 

Dear  Mrs.  Fletcher, —I  am  informed  by  your  hus- 
band tbat  I  can  send  a  letter  to  you  by  the  steamer  that  leaves 
on  the  loth,  and  eagerly  seize  the  opportunity  to  assure  you 
that  the  cordial  greeting  you  will  receive  from  your  friends  in 
America,  when  once  more  you  are  free,  will  go  far  to  com- 
pensate you  for  all  you  have  suffered  in  a  foreign  land. 

You  know  that  I  am  not  a  believer  in  Spiritualism,  though 
I  must  fairly  admit  that  I  cannot  account  for  the  wonderful 
phenomena  which  have  convinced  so  many  of  its  truth;  and 
I  can  understand  the  feelings  of  the  opponents  of  Spiritualism 
in  England:  but  had  the  jury  that  tried  you,  the  judge  that 
sentenced  you,  the  solicitor  of  the  crown  who  aided  in  your 
prosecution,  known  your  real  character  and  that  of  your 
friends  in  America, —had  they  known  how  foreign  to  you 
was  any  deceit,  how  pure,  devoted,  unselfish,  and  courageous 
you  are,  they  could  never  have  sent  you  to  a  prison. 

I  write  specially  to  tell  you  that  Mack  (McGeary)  has  re- 
turned to  England.  He  said  he  was  going  there  to  show 
Madame  Hart-Davies  to  the  public  in  her  true  character,  if  she 
failed  to  pay  him  what  she  owed  him. 

He  signed  a  statement,  which  I  drew  up  for  him  at  his 
dictation,  to  this  effect;  viz.,  that  Madame  Davies  admitted  to 
him  that  she  had  testified  falsely  at  your  trial  in  several  par- 
ticulars; that  she  had  committed  larceny  of  articles  belonging 
to  you  and  Mr.  Fletcher;  and  he  named  a  sealskin  jacket,  a 
lace  shawl,  and  an  overcoat  lined  with  fur,  among  the  articles 
she  had  abstracted  from  your  house  in  London.     He  said  he 


400  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

was  ready  to  go  before  the  home  secretary  and  state  these 
matters  under  oath,  and  stated  that  he  had  learned  her  ingrati- 
tude, baseness,  and  utter  want  of  principle,  since  your  trial. 

The  fact  is,  Mack  and  Madame  Davies  conspired  together, 
the  conspirators  quarrelled,  and  now  each  is  calling  the  other 
all  the  vile  names  to  which  both  are  fairly  entitled.  The 
truth  will  be  known  in  the  end:  but  in  the  mean  time  you, 
poor  martyr,  you  are  suffering;  but  the  days  are  passing,  and  I 
feel  as  though  your  release  must  come  soon.  The  English 
people  and  the  English  authorities  have  recently  shown  some 
appreciation  of  America  and  Americans.  If  the  home  secre- 
tary will  listen  to  the  prayers  of  thousands  of  your  friends  in 
this  country,  he  will  before  Christinas  allow  you  to  go  free, 
and  return  to  them  and  your  family  before  another  year  is 
ushered  in.  Until  I  can  hear  from  or  see  you,  believe  me  your 
friend,  as  I  was  your  counsel.  I  advised  you  not  to  go  to 
England ;  but  you  said  your  honor  was  at  stake,  and  you  did: 
not  heed  my  counsel. 

I  remain  as  ever  yours, 

JOHN  W.  MAHAN. 

The  following  is  the  affidavit  of  James  McGeary, 
alias  Dr.  Mack  :  — 

"I,  James  McGeary  of  Salem,  in  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts, United  States  of  America,  but  now  temporarily  residing 
in  London,  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  depose  and 
say  as  follows:  — 

"  That  I  acted  in  perfect  good  faith  toward  Madame  Hart- 
Davies  (as  known  and  called)  both  in  America  and  England, 
as  I  believed  at  the  outset  that  she  had  been  injured  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  J.  W.  Fletcher.     But  during  and  after  the  trial  of 


MEMORIALS  AND   PETITIONS.  401 

Mrs.  Fletcher  I  had  occasion  to  consult  with  Madame  Davids; 
and  she  admitted  to  me  that  she  had  sworn  falsely  as  to  certain 
facts,  while  on  the  witness-stand,  in  the  indictment  against 
Mrs.  Fletcher.  Mrs.  Davies  also  admitted  that  she  had  taken 
property  from  the  house  of  Mr.  Fletcher  in  London  that 
belonged  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher,  and  declared  her  intention 
to  keep  the  same. 

"  In  other  respects  I  learned  the  true  character  of  Mrs.  Ilart- 
Davies,  and  for  this  reason  I  believe  that  Mrs.  Fletcher  ought 
not  to  suffer  further  imprisonment.  I  hereby  signify  my  will- 
ingness to  appear  before  the  home  secretary  at  any  time ;  and  I 
will  then  detail  some  facts  of  importance,  so  far  as  I  can  judge, 
bearing  upon  the  question  of  Mrs.  Fletcher's  guilt  or  inno- 
cence. I  further  depose  that  these  facts  relate  to  acts  of  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies;  and  I  can  satisfy  any  unprejudiced  mind  that 
she  is  unworthy  of  belief,  that  she  has  committed  perjury  and 
larceny,  and  is  utterly  incapable  of  returning  friendship,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  is  deceitful,  and  ready  to  return,  for  friendly 
acts  rendered  to  her,  falsehood  and  slander." 

Dr.  Mack,  since  his  latest  return  to  England,  made 
similar  declarations  to  a  friend  of  mine. 

After  my  conviction,  a  summons  was  granted  at  Bow 
Street  against  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  for  perjuries  com- 
mitted in  her  testimony  at  the  trial ;  but,  as  she  went 
to  France  on  the  close  of  the  trial,  it  could  not  be 
served.  A  warrant  for  her  arrest  was  applied  for  and 
granted.  The  charges  of  repeated  perjuries  made  by 
Capt.  Lindmark,  Mr.  Morton,  Miss  Gay,  and  others, 
as  well  as  by  her  friend  and  co-conspirator  McGeary, 


402  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  PRISON. 

are  on  record  against  her.  It  is  just  that  they  should 
be  known  for  my  vindication.  And  my  first  duty,  after 
my  health  is  sufficiently  restored,  will  be  to  place  these 
records  before  the  proper  officials,  and  await  the  result. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

A    PLEA    FOR   PRISOX-REFOKM. 

As  the  gloomy  days  and  long  nights  of  an  English 
winter  wore  awa}T  in  the  cold  and  darkness  of  solitary 
confinement  in  dreary  cells,  —  in  that  cheerless  mo- 
notony contrasting  with  the  gayeties  of  Christmas 
firesides  and  Christmas  festivities  outside,  —  it  is  not 
strange  that  my  health  broke  down.  The  cold,  the 
darkness,  the  horrible  .character  of  all  my  surround- 
ings, the  hopeless  condition  of  the  constantly  changing 
swarm  of  bloated,  drunken,  miserable  women,  sent  to 
prison  for  short  terms,  only  to  become  each  time  more 
hardened  and  depraved,  weighed  heavily  upon  my  heart. 
Under  such  a  system  nothing  could  be  done  for  them. 
If  the  chaplains  could  make  any  impression  upon  them 
when  the}T  got  sober,  the  moment  they  got  outside  the 
walls,  it  was  drowned  in  drunken  riot.  The  only  hope 
was  in  longer  sentences,  which  would  not  pay  the  < ini- 
tials as  well ;  but  those  the  magistrates  could  not  or 
would  not  give  :  and  what  was  the  good  of  long  sen- 
tences in  such  a  place,  or  under  such  a  system?    Cold, 

403 


404  TWELVE   MONTHS  IN   TPvISON. 

darkness,  silence,  solitude,  and  the  repression  of  brute 
force,  are  not  curative,  or  reformatory," or  humanizing 
influences.  They  disease  the  body,  and  depress,  stu- 
pefy, and  debase  the  mind.  Their  tendency  is  to  fill  it 
with  gloom,  hatred,  and  desperation.  .  A  woman  igno- 
rantly,  carelessly,  yields  to  the  temptations  that  society 
and  the  government  itself  place  around  her ;  owing 
to  badly  paid  labor  and  a  wretched  home,  a  young 
girl  goes  to  the  music-hall,  the  public-house,  and  the 
brothel ;  drink  quiets  remorse  and  shame  ;  more  drink 
leads  to  reckless  abandonment  and  disorderly  conduct, 
the  police-court,  and  the  prison.  The  State  receives 
the  victims  of  its  own  established  institutions, — the 
houses  of  ill-fame  which  it  tolerates,  and  the  houses 
of  drunkenness  it  licenses,  and  from  which  it  draws 
millions  of  revenue. 

In  the  absence  of  any  proper  classification  and  sepa- 
ration of  prisoners,  there  can  be  no  reformation.  The 
discipline  of  the  prison  is  not  reform  a  tor}-.  I  think  it 
ought  to  be  changed  in  almost  every  particular. 

What  would  I  have?  Above  all,  the  conditions  of 
health, — plenty  of  light,  pure  air,  pure  water,  pure, 
healthy  food,  sufficient  exercise,  attractive  industry, 
and  humanizing  influences. 

First  of  all,  there  should  be  perfect  cleanliness.  It 
is  half  the  battle  to  make  people  clean  in  their  persons, 
clothing,  and  surroundings.    Plenty  of  soap  and  water. 


A  PLEA  FOR  PRISON  REFORM.       405 

Every  prisoner  should  have  a  good  daily  bath.  The 
best  arrangement  for  such  a  number  would  probably 
be  a  warm  shower-bath,  into  which  each  one  could 
step  for  one  or  two  minutes.  The  spray  of  warm 
water,  about  100°  or  110°  F.,  should  eud  with  a  mo- 
mentary dash  of  cold,  to  leave  the  skin  in  good 
condition  ;  then  a  hard  towel,  the  rougher  the  better, 
each  bather  bringing  her  own. 

Personal  and  bed  clothing  should  be  sufficient  for 
comfort,  that  is,  for  health,  and  always  clean,  and  never 
inherited,  unchanged,  as  now,  by  one  prisoner  from 
another. 

Taken  in  relays  to  a  model  laundry,  every  prisoner 
should  in  turn  be  taught  how  to  wash ;  and  in  a  model 
kitchen,  suited  to  the  preparation  of  plain,  healthy 
food,  every  prisoner  should  be  taught  how  to  cook. 
As  books  are  allowed  in  all  the  cells,  why  not  pictures 
upon  the  walls,  and  why  not  a  pot  of  flowers,  add- 
ing beauty  to  cleanliness  ?  I  would  make  a  prison  for 
women  clean,  healthful,  womanly,  a  model  home,  a 
model  sanitarium  for  body  and  for  soul.  And  no  short 
sentences  after  the  first.  A  prison  should  be  a  reform- 
atory school,  and  for  reformation  time  is  a  necessary 
element.  Reform  is  cure,  and  to  cure  a  drunkard  of 
the  mania  for  drink  needs  at  least  a  year.  I  hold 
that  the  State  —  that  is,  all  of  us  —  should  do  for  all 
these  poor  women  —  victims  of  social  conditions  and 


406  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

institutions,  victims  of  what  men  do,  and  neglect  to 
do  —  what  I  would  do  for  rny  sister  or  my  child  if  she 
fell  into  such  misfortunes. 

Drunkenness  and  crime  are  the  results  of  social  con- 
ditions and  hereditary  predispositions.  Punishments 
do  not  deter  nor  prevent.  When  people  were  hanged 
for  theft,  it  did  not  prevent  stealing.  When  men  and 
women  were  hanged  in  rows  in  the  Old  Bailey  for 
passing  counterfeit  money,  it  was  no  perceptible  check 
upon  the  crime.  The  Bank  of  England  stopped  it  by 
issuing  no  notes  under  five  pounds,  and  making  these 
very  difficult  to  counterfeit. 

Two  great  reforms  are  needed  in  England. 

1.  A  law  reform  by  means  of  which  innocent  per- 
sons shall  not  be  unjustly  condemned  to  prison,  to 
penal  servitude,  nor  to  the  gallows  ;  a  better  court  of 
criminal  appeal  than  can  be  hoped  for  in  an  over- 
worked home  secretary  ;  and  a.  public  prosecutor  for 
defendant  as  well  as  for  plaintiff. 

2.  A  prison  reform  by  means  of  which  those  who 
are  justly  convicted  may  have  some  chance  of  physical 
and  moral  improvement. 

It  is  a  comfort  to  me  to  think  that  my  trial  and  im- 
prisonment may  have  some  good  effect  in  promoting 
both  of  these  much  needed  reformations.  At  least,  I 
shall  do  what  I  can  to  beg  others  to  do  what  they  can 
for  the  unfortunate  and  even  for  the  criminal. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


FREEDOM, 


The  days,  weeks,  months,  wore  slowly  away.  I 
counted  the  weeks,  days,  hours,  between  me  and  liberty. 
My  husband  could  not  come  to  receive  me  at  the  prison- 
gate.  He  would  have  been  arrested,  arraigned,  and, 
without  further  trial,  sentenced,  no  doubt  to  penal 
servitude,  on  the  verdict  recorded  both  against  him  and 
my  friend  Mr.  Morton.  It  would  have  been  a  simple 
formality,  without  protest  or  appeal.  But  there  was 
one  who  could  safely  come,  my  dear  boy,  Alvah,  now 
in  his  seventeenth  3-ear.  My  term  of  imprisonment 
was  to  expire  on  Monday,  the  17th  of  March.  The 
steamer  which  brought  my  boy  arrived  on  Sunday. 

By  applying  to  the  lady-superintendent,  I  was  al- 
lowed to  leave  the  prison  at  half-past  nine  o'clock  a.m., 
instead  of  ten,  the  hour  when  others  would  be  liberated. 
For  the  first  time  in  so  many  months,  I  put  on  my  own 
clothes,  which,  with  such  things  as  I  happened  to  have, 
had  been  carefully  kept  for  me.  I  stepped  into  the 
little  court  enclosed  by  the  great  iron  gates  at  the 

407 


408  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

entrance,  and  clasped  my  boy  in  my  arms,  and  felt  his 
hot  tears  raining  on  my  cheeks  ;  then  came  the  grasp 
of  the  friendly  hands  of  friends,  who  had  come  in  car- 
riages to  welcome  me  to  liberty.  The  morning  was 
perfectly  lovely,  and  the  route  from  Westminster  to 
my  friend's  house  in  South  Kensington  la}T  through 
paradise.  None  but  those  who  have  been  immured  for 
months  in  a  gloomy  prison  can  ever  know  the  ecstasy 
of  freedom.  The  sensation  goes  far  towards  compen- 
sating for  the  deprivation. 

Breakfast  and  friends,  cables  from  my  husband, 
awaited  me  at  Dr.  Nichols's  ;  and  there  I  found  a  true 
home  while  I  remained  in  England.  My  friend  Mr. 
Mengens,  who  had  come  from  Calcutta,  gave  me  the 
refreshment  of  a  week's  visit  to  his  family  in  Brighton  ; 
and  as  many  of  my  London  friends  as  I  was  able  to 
receive  called  to  see  me.  Others  left  cards,  or  wrote. 
I  was  so  weak  after  the  first  ecstasy,  that  I  could  not 
see  many.  And  I  had  my  work  to  do.  Every  morn- 
ing, from  six  o'clock  to  nine,  I  worked  upon  this  story 
of  my  life,  and  nry  recent  experiences,  which  I  wished 
to  record  while  fresh  in  my  memory. 

In  leaving  the  prison,  I  had  to  thank  the  senior 
warder  for  many  civilities,  my  chaplain  for  unvary- 
ing kindness,  the  doctor  for  professional  and  friendly 
care.  They  were  all  as  good  to  me  as  their  duties  and 
the  regulations  of  the  prison  would  permit  them  to  be. 


FREEDOM.  409 

There  were  some  in  humble  positions  whom  I  wish  I 
could  reward  as  they  deserve.  Their  woman-hearts 
were  full  of  sympathy.  In  strict  accordance  with  their 
instructions  they  treated  me  with  all  the  kindness  their 
rules  would  allow,  and  with  such  civility  as  one  would 
scarcely  look  for  in  such  a  place.  To  show  how  warm 
are  the  hearts  of  those  whom  one  might  expect  to  be 
hardened  into  heartlessness  by  such  duties,  let  me  give 
a  portion  of  a  letter  I  received  soon  after  my  release, 
from  a  woman-warder  who  cared  for  me  :  — 

"My  dear  darling  Baby,  —  If  I  may  still  call  you  so,— 
and  I  think  you  will  let  me,  for  indeed  you  are  very  dear  to 
me,— you  don't  know  how  miserable  and  unhappy  I  feel,  now 
you  are  gone.  It  is  not  like  the  same  place.  It  was  very  bad, 
but  now  it  is  much  worse.  As  I  am  passing  that  old  cell,  I 
look  in.  It  is  emptj — no  one  there.  Then  I  don't  know  what 
to  do  with  myself.  Oh,  do  forgive  me !  I  ought  not  to  remind 
you  of  this  dreadful  place,  but  I  do  miss  you  so  much!  I  hope 
you  will  keep  well.  Let  me  beg  of  you  to  take  care  of  your- 
self. 

"  I  was  so  pleased  to  see  your  dear,  dear  boy;  and  I  love  him 
so  much!  He  has  your  dear  old  face,  bless  him!  .  .  .  With 
fondest  love,  yours  ever." 

It  is  needless  to  add,  that  a  warder  like  this  did  not 
remain  long  in  the  service.  . 

With  such  hearts  as  the  one  which  dictated  that 
letter,  what  could  not  be  done  for  poor  women2  under 


410  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PRISON. 

proper  conditions  and  regulation !  As  to  the  greater 
number  of  those  who  are  sent  to  prison,  the  following 
paragraph  from  a  London  newspaper,  which  came  under 
my  eye  as  I  was  copying  the  above  letter,  gives  a  suffi- 
cient description :  — 

"  Worship  -  Street.  —  A  Sad  Case. — Lucy  Brent,  an 
1  unfortunate,'  about  thirty  years  of  age,  was  charged  with 
being  drunk,  and  refusing  to  quit  the  George  and  Guy  public- 
house  when  requested ;  further,  with  wilfully  breaking  a  square 
of  plate-glass,  value  five  pounds.  The  prisoner  is  well  known 
in  the  court ;  and  the  convictions  recorded  against  her  number 
nearly  a  hundred,  dating  from  186S.  When  she  first  appeared 
before  the  magistrate,  she  was  not  eighteen  years  of  age,  and 
was  exceedingly  pretty.  She  was  then  charged  with  drunken- 
ness in  the  street;  and,  when  she  told  her  history,  Mr.  Xewton 
induced  her  to  enter  a  home  for  fallen  women,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  Miss  Stride.  The  prisoner,  however,  soon  left  the 
home,  and  ever  since  has  refused  to  listen  to  any  advice.  She 
now  lives,  when  not  in  prison,  in  the  lowest  dens  of  Spital- 
fields,  and  on  this  occasion  appeared  in  the  dock  with  a  fear- 
ful contusion  of  one  eye,  and  looking  fifty  years  of  age.  She 
is  a  woman  of  fair  education,  but  whether  respectably  con- 
nected, she  would  never  tell.  She  has  never  been  convicted  of 
felony.  Mr.  Bushby  said  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  send 
her  to  prison,  and  ordered  her  to  be  kept  in  jail  for  two  months 
with  hard  labor." 

Of  course  Lucy  Brent  was  sent  to  Tothill  Fields 
Prison,  where  she  may  have  had  the  good  fortune  to 


•  FREEDOM.  411 

fall  under  the  guardianship  of  the  writer  of  the  above 
letter.  But  at  the  end  of  the  two  months?  The  lowest 
den  in  Spitalfields  again,  and  then  another  conviction 
and  sentence. 

Surely  men  who  can  vote  and  legislate  might  do 
something  better  than  that  for  their  victims.  If  they 
really  cannot,  then  let  us  women  try.  We  could  not 
do  worse. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 


AT    LIBERTY    IN    LONDON. A    FAREWELL    SEANCE,     AND 


A  FAREWELL    TO    ENGLAND. 


I  have  desired  my  friend  Dr.  Nichols,  who  stood 
by  me  from  first  to  last,  to  write  some  account  of 
our  experiences  during  the  weeks  I  spent  in  London, 
gathering  strength  for  the  voyage  to  America.  Espe- 
cially I  wished  to  have  his  account  of  the  farewell 
seance,  attended  by  some  of  my  friends  of  both  worlds  ; 
and  this  last  and  farewell  chapter  cannot,  perhaps,  end 
better  than  with  my  farewell  to  England. 

"  In  compliance  with  the  request  of  my  friend  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  for  whom  I  have  done  what  I  could  do  in  the 
wa}T  of  friendly  service,  I  will  give  some  account  of 
her  and  our  experiences  before  she  left  us  to  visit  her 
family  and  friends  in  America,  soon  to  return,  we 
trust,  and  complete  the  work  in  England,  for  which 
she  has  had  such  preparation. 

"  She  came  from  her  Majesty's  Prison,  "Westminster, 
with  the  friends  who  went  to  welcome  her  to  liberty, 
412 


AT   LIBERTY   IN   LONDON.  413 

on  the  morning  of  March  27,  1882,  very  cheerful,  very 
happy  to  meet  her  friends,  especially  her  good  and 
loving  boy,  and  happy  in  her  freedom  as  no  one  can 
be  who  has  not  been  in  bonds. 

"  It  was  evident  that  her  health  had  suffered.  She 
had  lost  from  forty  to  fifty  pounds  in  weight,  and  was 
often  in  pain  ;  but  the  air  of  freedom  was  a  fine  stimu- 
lant, and  she  was  radiant  and  buoyant.  After  spend- 
ing a  few  days  with  some  friends  at  Brighton,  to  try 
the  tonic  effects  of  sea-air,  she  returned  to  us,  and 
spent  her  mornings  upon  the  story  of  her  life  and  its 
early  and  recent  trials.  The  triumphs  will  be,  I  hope, 
recorded  in  a  later  volume. 

"  Among  those  who  joined  with  us  in  welcoming  Mrs. 
Fletcher  to  her  new-found  freedom  was  Mr.  I.  E.  Men- 
gens,  a  merchant  of  Calcutta,  who  had  there  received 
the  letters  written  by  her  in  her  cell  at  Westminster, 
on  the  day  they  were  written.  Mr.  William  Eglinton, 
the  medium  who  had  been  with  Mr.  Mengens  in  Cal- 
cutta, and  was  apparently  '  the  operator  at  the  other 
end  of  the  line,'  had  followed  him  to  London,  and 
was  one  of  our  guests.  Mr.  S ,  a  New- York  law- 
yer now  residing  in  Paris,  had  also  joined  us. 

"On  Saturday,  the  29th  of  April,  1882,  we  formed 
a  circle  of  six  persons,  —  rather  the  spirits  formed  it,  or 
re-arranged  it  so  as  to   place   Mr.    Eglinton  bet? 
Mrs.  Fletcher  and  Mrs.  Nichols.     At  a  signal  the  gas- 


414  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

light  was  turned  off,  when  we  saw  carried  around  the 
table,  so  as  to  be  read  by  each  one  in  turn,  a  message 
written  in  letters  of  pure  white  light.  It  was  in  four 
or  five  lines,  in  a  space  of  about  six  inches  by  four, 
announcing   the   presence    of    a   spirit-friend   of   Mr. 

S .     The  vivid  metallic  lustre  of  the  light  shone 

on  the  faces  of  those  who  read  the  inscription.  When 
it  had  gone  round  the  circle,  it  suddenly  vanished. 

"  Then  came  our  old  friend,  the  spirit '  Ernest,'  who 
gravely  saluted  Mrs.  Fletcher,  and  all  of  us  in  turn. 
It  was  the  first  time  some  of  us  had  heard  him  since 
Mr.  Eglinton  went  to  India.  Then  '  Joey '  came, 
and  joyfully  addressed  us  all,  and  loudly  kissed  Mrs. 
Fletcher ;  then,  like  a  big  boy,  he  wound  up  the 
musical  box  and  set  it  going,  because,  as  he  said,  he 
had  not  heard  one  for  so  long  a  time.  Our  dear 
daughter  Willie  came,  and  made  signal  touches  upon  the 
hands  and  foreheads  of  her  mother  and  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
and  on  mine.  Our  spirit-friends  joined  with  us  in  wel- 
coming our  friend  to  liberty. 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  April  30,  we  made  the 
acquaintance  of  '  Dewdrop,'  professedly  the  spirit  of 
an  Indian-girl  who  speaks  through  Mrs.  Fletcher  when 
she  is  in  a  deep  trance.  She  talked  with  us  for  an 
hour  with  wonderful  vivacity,  giving  continual  tests  in 
remembering  persons,  facts,  and  verbal  expressions. 
No  one,  I  think,  can  listen  to  or  converse  with  this 


AT  LIBERTY  IN   LONDON.  415 

spirit  without  believing  in  her  personalit}-,  or  crediting 
her  medium  with  very  marvellous  powers.  As  one 
hypothesis  is  as  '  supernatural '  as  the  other,  I  prefer 
to  believe  the  spirit's  declaration  that  she  is  a  spirit. 
She  is  the  only  witness,  and  I  do  not  see  how  her  testi- 
mony is  to  be  impeached. 

"  On  Tuesday,  May  2,  I  accompanied  Mrs.  Fletcher 
to  the  Bedford  Pantechnicon,  and  saw  her  examine  a 
great  mass  of  property  wrhich  had  been  removed  from 
her  house,  22  Gordon  Street,  in  her  absence,  by  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies.  Mrs.  Fletcher  claimed  a  great  number 
of  articles  of  clothing,  jewelry,  etc.,  as  her  own  ;  and 
I  saw  taken  from  one  of  the  boxes  a  packet  of  letters 
addressed  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher.  On  the  exami- 
nation at  Bow  Street,  and  at  the  trial  at  the  Old 
Bailey,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  swore  that  she  had  taken  no 
such  papers. 

"  On  the  night  of  the  15th  of  May,  1882,  we  had  our 
farewell  seance  with  Mrs.  Fletcher  before  she  went  to 
America.  The  persons  present  were  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
Mrs.    Bower,  Mrs.    Nichols,  Miss   Western,   Mr.   W; 

Egiinton,  Signor  Damiani,  Mr.  S (the  gentleman 

before  mentioned),  Mr.  Mengens,  and  myself.  We  all 
sat  round  a  table  ;  and  by  signal  raps  answering  to 
our  questions,  the  spirits,  or  rapping  intelligences,  re- 
arranged us,  and  the  room  was  completely  darkened. 

"  The  first  manifestation  after  this  re- arrangement 


416  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN   PEISON. 

was  a  very  curious  one.     A  large  repeater  watch  was 

taken  from  Mr.  S 's  pocket,  and  carried  about  the 

table  by  the  spirit  of  his  brother,  as  he  believed,  to 
whom  he  had  given  it,  and  from  whom  he  inherited  it 
as  a  keepsake.  Several  times  it  was  made  to  strike 
the  hour  and  quarters  from  different  parts  of  the  table. 
Mrs.  Fletcher's  bracelet  was  taken  from  her  arm,  and: 

placed  upon   that   of   Mr.    S .     All   present   said 

they  were  touched  b}'  hands  or  ringers.  Mr.  Eglinton 
was  raised  bodily  so  high  in  the  air  that  the  two  ladies 
holding  his  hands  were  obliged  to  stand  on  their  chairs 
to  keep  hold  of  him,  while  his  feet  came  across  the 
table,  and  rested  for  a  moment,  one  on  my  head,  and 
the  other  on  the  head  of  the  lady  who  sat  beside  me  ; 
so  that  his  body  must  have  been  in  a  slopiug  position 
from  three  to  six  feet  above  the  table. 

"  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  then  controlled  by  a  very  noble, 
pure,  and  eloquent  spirit  known  to  us  as  'Violet.'  I 
express,  of  course,  our  belief  that  she  was  so  con- 
trolled. However  that  may  be,  I  testify  that  a  more 
beautiful  and  more  eloquent  discourse  I  have  never 
listened  to  in  my  life  than  that  in  which  we  were 
thanked  for  our  fidelity  to  the  medium  through  her 
trial  and  imprisonment.  I  have  a  high  opinion  of 
Mrs.  Fletcher  as  a  woman  of  ability  and  genius.  She 
has  admirable  qualities  of  intellect  and  heart ;  but  I 
am  unable  to  believe  that  she  could  of  herself   have 


AT  LIBERTY   IN   LONDON.  417 

given  us  the  beautifully  refined,  elevated,  and  perfect 
discourse  to  which  we  listened  in  rapt  attention.  I 
have  heard,  I  believe,  some  of  the  best  speakers  and 
actors  in  the  world,  some  of  the  best  normal  and 
trance  speakers,  but  have  never  listened  to  a  more 
perfectly  beautiful  address  than  was  given  by  or 
through  Mrs.  Fletcher  at  her  farewell  seance. 

"  Then  followed  the  most  wonderfully  beautiful 
manifestation  of  the  kind  I  have  ever  seen.  People 
denounce  dark  seances;  but  how  are  we  to  have  the 
marvellous  phenomena  of  spirit-lights,  with  gas  or 
candles  burning?  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Egliuton  the 
medium  passed  round  outside  the  circle,  bearing  a 
cross  of  light  about  fifteen  inches  high,  —  a  light  inde- 
scribably pure  and  beautiful,  like  the  light  of  the  planet 
Jupiter.  Across  the  shorter  arm  of  the  Latin  cross, 
in  beautifully  formed  capital  letters,  was  the  word 
L  FAITH.'  The  spirit  'Ernest,'  in  his  own  direct 
voice,  then  spoke  to  us  all,  and  to  each  in  turn,  thank- 
ing us  for  what  had  been  to  all  of  us  a  '  labor  of 
love  ; '  and  '  Joey '  did  the  same,  with  his  own  humor 
and  pathos;  and  both  said  good-by  to  'Bertie,'  and 
both  tenderly  kissed  her.  '  Joey '  was  very  affec- 
tiouate  in  his  farewells,  and  he  never  says  '  good- 
night '  to  his  medium  without  kissing  him  two  or 
three  times. 

"  On  the  17th  of  May  our  friend  went  with  her  son 


418  TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  PRISON. 

to  Liverpool,  and  sailed  next  day  on  the  *  Celtic,'  of 
the  White  Star  Line,  for  New  York,  where  she  was 
met  by  her  husband,  and  welcomed,  there  and  in  Phila- 
delphia, by  crowds  of  friends,  with  a  generous  enthusi- 
asm. When  her  present  work  in  America  is  done,  we 
expect  her  to  come  and  do  what  there  is  for  her  to  do 
in  England. 

"T.   L.   NICHOLS." 


The  above  statement  of  Dr.  Nichols  is  accurate,  so 
far  as  I  can  remember.  I  give  it  as  he  has  written  it ; 
because,  for  what  he  considers  worthy  of  his  eulog}T,  I 
am  in  no  way  responsible. 

And  now,  dear  reader,  let  me  try  to  answer  your 
last  question  as  to  this  book,  —  Cui  bono?  For  what 
purpose  has  it  been  written  ?  What  results  do  I  antici- 
pate ? 

From  first  to  last  it  has  been  my  all-absorbing  desire 
to  serve,  in  every  way  within  my  power,  the  cause  of 
Spiritualism,  —  the  cause  which  I  espoused  so  many 
years  ago,  —  the  cause  to  which  my  husband  is  giving 
the  best  years  of  his  life, — the  cause,  which,  I  believe, 
is  destined,  sooner  than  its  advocates  imagine,  to  be  a 
comfort  and  service  to  all  who  know  its  phenomena, 
and  believe  in  its  philosophy. 

No  one  who  is  unprejudiced  can  read  the  report  of 


AT   LIBERTY   IN   LONDON.  419 

my  trial  without  seeing  that  the  difficulty  between  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  and  myself  might  have  been  settled  quietly 
between  us  at  an  afternoon  tea,  had  she  been  disposed. 
And,  if  she  had  been  guided  by  high-minded  and  well- 
meaning  advisers,  who  can  doubt  that  this  simple  and 
natural  course  would  have  been  followed?  But  she 
preferred  to  seize  the  rare  opportunity  to  cast  a  shadow 
upon  Spiritualism  in  order  to  gratify  personal  revenge. 
Every  form  of  religion  or  philosophy  is  more  or  less 
estimated  by  the  character  of  its  believers  and  expo- 
nents. However  unjust  this  mode  of  judgment  is, 
we  cannot  escape  its  influence.  The  question  of  my 
guilt  or  innocence  should  not  have  affected  the  moral 
status  of  Spiritualism ;  and  yet  we  see,  in  the  com- 
ments of  the  prosecuting  attorney  and  of  the  news- 
paper press,  that  the  question  did  have  a  widespread 
and  most  injurious  influence.  The  sacred  cause  itself 
seemed,  to  the  unbelieving  public,  to  be  on  trial  in  my 
person.  And  yet  I  may  state  here,  that  from  the  time 
I  first  saw  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  until  some  time  after  the 
execution  of  that  deed  of  gift,  I  never  once  gave,  nor 
professed  to  give,  her  a  spiritual  stance.  Her  story 
of  the  walking  coffee-table  and  the  mechanical  writing, 
like  the  greater  part  of  her  testimony,  was  a  sheer 
fabrication.  But  if  all  her  testimony  be  taken  as  true, 
when  she  stated,  under  oath,  in  January,  1881,  that  she 
had  believed  and  still  did  believe  in  Spiritualism,  and 


420  TWELVE  MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

that  she  had  received  communications  from  her  mother 
through  the  mediumskip  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  then  she 
swore,  that,  to  the  best  of  her  knowledge,  she  was 
prosecuting  innocent  people. 

In  giving  carefully  both  sides  of  this  sad  case,  I 
have  endeavored  to  show  that  all  the  sin  and  ignorance 
have  been  the  fault  or  misfortune  of  individuals,  and 
that  Spiritualism  has  been  an  incidental  matter,  un- 
justly and  maliciously  introduced. 

My  reputation  has  a  certain  worldly  value,  and  upon 
it  I  place  due  importance  ;  but,  as  one's  reputation  is 
like  stock  in  the  hands  of  a  broker  with  its  par  value, 
I  have  little  power  over  it,  and  less  concern.  My  char- 
acter to-day  differs  only  as  it  may  have  been  enlarged 
and  strengthened,  or  crushed  and  weakened,  by  the 
discipline  of  the  last  twelve  months.  But  a  sense  of 
justice  to  my  family  and  friends  furnishes  sufficient 
inducement  to  make  the  truth  known.  Out  of  my 
experience,  so  terrible  in  many  ways,  has  come  much 
good.  I  know  the  motives  and  character  of  the  pro- 
fessing thousands,  and  the  truth  and  fidelity  of  the 
friendly  few,  as  nothing  else  could  have  revealed  them  : 
those  of  doubtful  and  weak  natures  were  wavering  in 
their  friendship,  while  the  really  upright  were  strong 
and  true.  A  literary  woman,  well  known  by  her 
popular  novels,  who  was  notorious  for  having  been  a 
"  natural "  wife  months  before  she  was  a  legal  one, 


AT   LIBEETY   IN   LONDON.  421 

questioned  very  much  the  propriety  of  recognizing  me 
in  the  court-room,  although  she  had  been  previously 
solicitous  for  invitations  to  my  house,  and  had  been 
received  by  me  when  nearly  every  door  was  closed 
against  her. 

Over  some  of  these  discoveries  I  felt  like  smiling : 
with  others,  I  was  not  so  inclined.  I  regretfully  con- 
fess, that,  had  the  advocates  and  some  of  the  believers 
been  the  only  vouchers  for  Spiritualism,  I  should  then 
and  there  have  withdrawn  my  adherence,  and  taken  the 
first  steamer  for  home.  But  knowing  that  the  grander 
the  feast,  the  greater  the  mob,  these  discoveries  of 
human  frailty  only  served  to  strengthen  my  fidelity. 

My  next,  and  surely  not  less  important,  desire  will 
be  to  call  attention  to  the  prison  system  in  England 
and  America.  Society,  as  a  rule,  is  more  thoughtless 
than  wicked.  To  inform  the  indifferent  is,  in  many 
instances,  to  convert  them.  The  infinite  bounty  of 
nature  rapidly  increases  population  ;  but  it  does  not 
seem  to  me,  that,  of  all  the  millions,  we  have  human 
beings  to  spare.  Inside  our  prisons  are  to  be  found 
a  considerable  percentage  of  our  brightest  intellects  ; 
and  so  partisan  and  unjust  has  the  administration  of 
law  become,  that  to  be  adjudged  guilty  is  sometimes 
a  compliment  rather  than  a  disgrace.  Shall  we  accept 
as  final  the  judgment  of  thirteen  men,  twelve  of  whom 
are  no  more  fitted  to  weigh  testimony  than  many  of 


422  TWELVE   MONTHS   IN  PRISON. 

our  politicians  are  to  hold  office  ?  A  belief  in  an  ever- 
lasting hell  as  a  fit  punishment  for  sin  is  almost  as 
kind,  and  quite  as  intelligent,  as  is  the  lifelong  ostra- 
cism from  the  society  of  decent  people  for  breaking  a 
statute-law. 

Let  our  prisons  be  reformatories,  hospitals,  and 
schools,  and  let  the  inmates  who  have  paid  the  penalty 
of  the  law  be  considered  only  as  graduates  from  such 
humane  institutions.  What  a  load  will  be  lifted  from 
your  heart  and  mine,  dear  reader,  when  we  can  feel 
that  we  are  no  longer  paying,  through  taxation,  for  the 
torture  and  brutalization  of  so  many  of  our  blood  ! 

It  is  laudable  to  seek  the  congenial  society  of  those 
whose  lives  are  above  reproach,  but  it  is  better  far 
to  strive  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  sinners  than  to 
bask  in  the  sunshine  of  saints. 


APPENDICES. 


APPENDIX   I. 

REPORT  OF  THE  CROSS-EXAMINATION  OF  MRS. 
HART-DAVIES  BEFORE  THE  BOW-STREET  MAGIS- 
TRATE, MR.*  FLOWERS,  WITH  THE  SUGGESTIONS 
OF  COUNSEL,   ETC. 

The  "  Daily  Telegraph's  "  report  of  the  cross-examination 
on  the  10th  of  February  is  as  follows :  — 

On  the  case  coming  on  now,  Mr.  Lewis  asked  the  learned 
magistrate  to  look  at  the  17th  section  of  Jarvis's  Act. 

Mr.  Flowers,  having  done  so,  said,  of  course  Mr.  Lewis  had 
the  right  to  cross-examine. 

Mr.  Lewis  thought  it  was  his  imperative  duty.  They  had 
before  them  a  lady  who  averred  that  she  was  in  delicate  health, 
and  who  wished  to  go  abroad.  When  the  trial  came  on,  it 
might  be  said  that  she  was  too  unwell  to  travel,  and  her  deposi- 
tion would  go  before  the  jury  without  the  modifying  effect  of 
the  cross-examination.  Such  a  state  of  things  would  place  his 
client  in  a  very  unpleasant  situation. 

Mr.  Wontner  suggested,  that,  if  that  was  the  only  reason  for 
Mr.  Lewis  wishing  to  go  on  with  the  cross-examination.  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies'  evidence  was  the  case  itself.  Without  her,  no 
true  bill  would  probably  be  found  by  the  grand  jury. 

Mr.  Lewis  still  thought  it  to  be  his  duty  to  cross-examine 
the  witness. 

425 


426  APPENDIX  I. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  now  called,  and  accommodated  with 
a  seat  in  the  witness-box.  Cross-examined  by  Mr.  Lewis,  she 
said  the  letter  produced  was  written  from  her  aunt's  residence. 

What  is  her  name  ?  —  Mrs.  Sampson.  She  is  aunt  by- 
adoption. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  she  is  no  relation  to  you  ?  —  No. 

When  your  solicitor,  Mr.  Abrahams,  opened  the  case,  you 
were  present  ?  —  Yes. 

Did  you  hear  him  say  that  your  mother  was  the  sister  of  the 
late  Mr.  Sampson  ?  —  I  believe  so. 

Is  that  statement  true  ?  —  By  adoption  it  is  true. 

What  am  I  to  understand  by  that  ?  —  I  am  unable  to  answer 
that  question. 

Now,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  your  answers  will  force  me  to  ask 
you  questions  I  don't  wish  to.  Do  you  allege  that  there  was 
any  relationship  between  the  late  Mr.  Sampson  and  your 
mother  ?  —  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no. 

Mr.  Hart-Davies  is  your  second  husband,  I  think  ?  —  Yes. 

What  was  the  date  of  your  marriage  with  him  ?  —  Jan.  22, 
1876.    My  first  husband's  name  was  Ignatius  Francis  Kickard. 

Did  you  call  him  Frank  ?  —  It  might  be  so,  sometimes. 

Is  he  alive  ?  —  I  believe  so.    I  can't  swear  to  the  fact. 

Did  he  obtain  a  divorce  from  you  ?  —  My  family  and  he  did. 
He  presented  a  petition,  and  obtained  a  divorce.  I  certainly 
alleged  that  I  did  not  commit  adultery. 

Do  you  mean  to  swear  that  you  did  not  commit  adultery  ? 

Mr.  Wontner  objected  to  the  question  as  being  irrelevant. 

Mr.  Flowers  said  he  did  not  like  to  stop  the  cross-examina- 
tion unless  he  felt  that  it  was  merely  to  annoy  the  witness. 

Mr.  Lewis  assured  the  magistrate  that  that  was  not  his 
object.  He  merely  wished  to  show  the  real  object  the  witness 
had  in  parting  with  her  property. 


APPENDIX  I.  427 

Mr.  Lewis  (to  witness).  — "Do  you  assert  on  your  oath  that 
you  have  not  committed  adultery  ? 

Mr.  Abrahams  rose  to  address  the  magistrate. 

Mr.  Lewis  objected  to  Mr.  Abrahams  addressing  the  magis- 
trate, submitting  that  he  had  no  locus  standi  in  the  case. 

Mr.  Wontner  supported  Mr.  Lewis's  objection;  but  Mr. 
Abrahams  insisted  that  he  had  a  right  to  be  heard  as  a  soli- 
citor, watching  the  case  on  behalf  of  the  prosecutrix.  He 
asserted  that  he  had  a  right  to  protect  the  lady,  and  to  be 
heard.     He  was.  about  to  raise  an  objection,  but 

Mr.  Lewis  interrupted,  and  asked  the  magistrate  to  rule  that 
the  witness  should  answer  the  questions  put  to  her. 

Me.  Lewis  (to  witness). — Do  you  allege  that  you  did  not 
commit  adultery  during  your  marriage  with  Mr.  Packard  ?  — 
I  allege  nothing.     I  refuse  to  answer  that  question. 

•  Mr.  Flowers.  —  But  I  have  understood  you  to  say  no  ? 
Witness.  — Certainly. 

Mr.  Lewis.  —  Pardon  me.  She  has  not  said  no.  I  repeat 
the  question.  —  I  refuse  to  answer  it. 

Mr.  Lewis.  —  Then  I  must  ask  you,  sir,  to  compel  her  to 
answer. 

Mr.  Flowers. — I  can't  go  so  far  as  that.  And  to  what 
does  this  lead  ?  Supposing  she  has  lived  the  life  of  a  demon, 
how  will  that  affect  the  case  of  Mrs.  Fletcher  ? 

Mr.  Lewis.  —  I  am  going  to  show  the  real  reason  for  the 
transferring  of  this  property.  What  was  the  name  of  the  co- 
respondent ?  —  I  will  not  swear. 

Mr.  Wontner  suggested  that  the  file  of  proceedings  would 
supply  the  information. 

Mr.  Flowers  ruled  that  Mr.  Lewis  could  not  ask  the  ques- 
tion. He  did  not  see  how  it  could  affect  the  case,  and  would 
only  drag  the  name  of  some  one  not  connected  with  it  before 


428  APPENDIX  I. 

the  public.  All  this  evidence  seemed  to  him  to  show  the 
immense  power  the  prisoner  had  over  this  woman. 

Mr.  Lewis  lamented  to  hear  such  an  observation  from  the 
learned  magistrate.  He  might  at  once  say  he  intended  to  call 
a  large  number  of  witnesses  to  prove  his  case. 

Mr.  Flowers  still  ruled  that  the  question  concerning  the 
name  should  not  be  put. 

Mr.  Lewis. — I  observe,  in  writing  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  you 
address  him  as  brother.  Is  that  a  Spiritual  term  ? —  I  used  the 
•term  as  any  lady  would  who  put  her  trust  in  a  family  as  I  did. 

Mr.  Lewis  repeated  the  question.  Witness.  —  My  heart 
was  too  true  to  make  any  definition.  The  term  was  used  in 
the  sense  of  brother  in  faith  and  brother  in  fact. 

When  you  say  brother  in  faith,  do  you  mean  the  common 
faith  in  Spiritualism  ? —  I  don't  understand  your  definition.  I 
cannot  comprehend  you. 

Mr.  Flowers.  —  Do  I  understand  you  to  mean  as  an 
adopted  brother  ?  —  Yes. 

Mr.  Lewis.  —  Is  Mr.  Fletcher  the  only  man  you  have  ad- 
dressed as  brother  who  was  not  your  brother  by  blood  ?  —  I 
don't  remember. 

Mr.  Lewis  handed  the  witness  a  letter  which  commenced 
"  Sweet  Brother,"  and  the  witness  admitted  that  she  had 
written  it. 

In  what  sense  did  you  use  the  words  "sweet  brother"  ? — 
In  the  sense  of  a  true  friend. 

In  1871,  and  down  to  March,  1872,  were  you  living  with  Mr. 
Rickard  ?  — I  was  nearly  always  abroad.     I  don't  remember. 

Was  your  marriage  subsisting  in  February,  1872?  —  As  we 
were  both  alive,  I  suppose  it  was.  I  was  abroad  at  the  time. 
I  was  called  his  wife. 

Mr.  Wontner  again  asked  whether  it  was  competent  for  his 


APPENDIX  I.  429 

friend  to  enter  into  matters  that  occurred  in  the  years  1871  or 
1ST2. 

Mr.  Lewis  handed  the  witness  a  letter,  and  asked  her  if  it 
was  written  before,  or  after,  the  dissolution  of  her  marriage. 

Mr.  Flowers  looked  at  the  letter,  and  expressed  his  surprise 
that  it  should  be  in  the  possession  of  the  solicitor  for  the 
defence.  But  supposing  the  reading  of  this  letter  injured  her 
moral  status,  and  many  expressions  might  be  considered  un- 
wise, how  could  it  affect  the  matter  ? 

The  witness  stated  that  the  letter  had  been  written  ten  years 
ago,  whereupon  Mr.  Flowers  expressed  his  opinion  that  the 
cross-examination  thereon  was  irrelevant. 

Mr.  Lewis  said  he  had  a  number  of  letters  and  sketches, 
which,  he  ventured  to  say,  if  published,  would  bring  the  pub- 
lisher within  the  provisions  of  the  criminal  law.  Having 
quoted  from  Starkie  on  Evidence,  to  show  how  far  the  witness 
was  bound  to  answer  questions,  he  said  he  was  afraid  the  time 
had  now  come  when  he  should  be  bound  to  disclose  the  case 
for  the  defence.  His  case  would  be  to  show  that  the  prosecu- 
trix was  a  woman  of  no  character,  that  she  went  into  no  society 
whatever,  that  she  was  entirely  alone,  without,  so  to  speak,  a 
friend  in  the  world.  It  was  alleged  that  she  obtained  an  in- 
troduction into  the  Fletchers'  house  by  stratagem.  He  (Mr. 
Lewis)  would  show  that  the  Fletchers  were  visited  by  people 
of  the  highest  social  position,  men  distinguished  in  art  and 
literature,  and  he  submitted  that  it  was  of  vital  consequence 
to  the  prosecutrix  to  insinuate  herself  into  such  society.  He 
would  show  that  there  was  a  perfect,  good,  and  valid  consid- 
eration for  the  gift  of  this  property,  and  that  it  was  really 
pressed  and  forced  upon  them.  The  deed  of  gift  was  prepared 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  defendant ;  and,  when  it  was  sub- 
mitted to  her,  she  immediately  referred  it  to  her  husband.     It 


430  APPENDIX  I. 

was  only  ultimately,  upon  express  understanding  and  bargain 
that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  should  be  received  into  the  house  of 
the  Fletchers  free  of  expense,  that  this  property  was  handed 
over.  In  order  to  establish  the  defence,  he  (Mr.  Lewis)  must 
show  what  the  antecedents  of  the  prosecutrix  were. 

Mr.  Flowers  decided  not  to  admit  the  evidence  of  the  letters ; 
and  Mr.  Lewis  then  asked  for  an  adjournment,  during  which 
he  would  consider  whether  he  should  apply  for  a  mandamus 
to  compel  the  magistrate  to  admit  it. 

After  some  discussion,  this  course  was  acceded  to;  next 
Saturday  being  fixed  for  the  further  hearing. 

On  Saturday,  Feb.  16,  Mr.  Lewis  said,  that,  since  the  adjourn- 
ment, he  had  had  the  great  advantage  of  a  consultation  with 
Mr.  Day,  Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Besley;  and  he  might  say,  with  perfect 
respect  to  the  learned  magistrate,  that  they  were  of  opinion, 
notwithstanding  the  ruling,  that  the  questions  he  desired  to 
put  in  cross-examination  were  relevant  and  admissible;  but  at 
the  same  time  they  were  also  of  opinion  that  the  magistrate 
sitting  there  had  uncontrolled  power  and  right  either  to  allow, 
or  refuse  to  allow,  certain  questions  to  be  put.  Having  regard 
to  what  had  taken  place  as  to  the  reception  of  evidence  in  the 
memorable  case  of  the  Queen  vs.  Labouchere,  and  also  hav- 
ing regard  to  what  had  been  thrown  out  by  a  learned  judge, 
that  the  Gourt  would  not  review  a  magistrate's  discretion,  no 
application  had  been  made  for  a  mandamus.  He  wished,  how- 
ever, to  ask  the  witness  two  or  three  questions  the  magistrate 
had  ruled  to  be  inadmissible,  so  that  they  might  appear  as  dis- 
allowed on  the  depositions. 

Mr.  Wontner  "said  that  there  was  no  occasion  to  put  the 
prosecutrix  to  further  pain  in  the  matter.  The  Crown  would 
make  no  attempt  to  do  any  thing  against  the  interests  of  the 
defendant;  and  he  personally  would  guarantee  that  the  evi- 


APPENDIX  I.  431 

deuce  of  the  prosecutrix  should  not  be  put  in  at  the  trial,  unless 
she  was  present. 

Mr.  Lewis  replied  that  he  was  quite  content  with  that  assur- 
ance. He  could  not  conceive  there  would  be  any  advantage 
in  cross-examining  any  other  witnesses  there,  or  to  call  any; 
and  he  therefore  reserved  the  defence. 

Mrs.  Fletcher  was  then  formally  committed  to  take  her  trial 
at  the  next  sessions  of  the  Central  Criminal  Court,  being 
allowed  out  on  the  same  bail  as  before  for  her  appearance 


APPENDIX   II. 

LETTER  OF  DR.  T.  L.  NICHOLS  TO  THE  "BANNER 
OF  LIGHT." 

To  the  Editor  of  the  "Banner  of  Light." — I  have 
thought  that  some  account  of  the  Fletcher  case  might  be 
of  interest  to  your  readers  in  America  and  throughout  the 
world.  The  "  Banner  of  Light  "  goes  everywhere,  as  is  right; 
and  your  readers  want  the  truth,  no  more  and  no  less. 

The  prosecution  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  for  fraud  is  one 
of  a  series  of  severe  blows  to  Spiritualists.  It  is  not  the  first, 
and  will  not  be  the  last.  We  had  an  almost  exactly  similar 
case  with  Home,  when  he  accepted  a  gift  of  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars  from  a  wealthy  Jewess  who  insisted  upon 
adopting  him,  and  making  him  her  heir.  The  trial  of  that 
case  brought  out  a  great  body  of  testimony  to  the  facts  of 
Spiritualism. 

The  prosecution  of  Slade  led  directly  to  the  investigation  of 
the  phenomena  by  Professor  Zollner  and  his  fellow-professors 
of  Leipsic,  and  the  publication  of  the  splendid  results  of  their 
investigations.  The  so-called  exposures  of  mediums  in  Eng- 
land have  been  a  means  of  advancing  the  cause.  It  is  an  un- 
pleasant method,  but  very  effectual.  The  newspapers  will  not, 
because  they  dare  not,  publish  the  facts  that  are  or  would  be 
offered  to  them  by  Spiritualists  in  favor  of  Spiritualism ;  but 
432 


APPENDIX   II.  433 

they  give  their  columns  freely  to  the  smallest  details  of  any 
scandal  or  prosecution.  So  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the 
seed  of  the  church.  No  doubt  the  spirits  might  save  their 
mediums  from  these  prosecutions,  but  they  do  not  see  fit  to  do 
so.  Probably  they  have  good  reasons.  Their  work  is  to  spread 
Spiritualism,  and  they  know  what  will  do  it. 

It  seemed  to  us  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  committed  a 
grave  indiscretion  in  taking  charge  of  the  property  and  person 
of  Mrs.  Ilart-Davies;  but,  after  receiving  a  full  account  of  the 
matter,  I  am  not  disposed  to  blame  them.  She  appealed  to 
their  benevolence.  They  gave  her  an  asylum,  and  received  her 
property,  the  amount  of  which  has  been  exaggerated.  I  can 
have  no  doubt  that  the  Fletchers  acted  in  simple  kindness  and 
good  faith.  It  seemed  a  good  arrangement  for  all  parties  'that 
Mrs.  Davies  should  have  an  asylum,  and  that  her  property 
should  be  saved  for  her  own  benefit.  But,  from  a  worldly 
point  of  view,  it  was  a  great  mistake,  owing  to  the  peculiar 
disposition  of  Mrs.  Davies.  I  will  not  anticipate  the  facts  that 
must  come  out  in  the  cross-examination  and  in  the  course  of 
the  trial. 

Mrs.  Fletcher's  coming  to  England  under  the  circumstances 
was  simply  and  sublimely  heroic.  She  knew  precisely  what 
she  had  to  encounter.  She  left  New  York  with  a  telegram  in 
her  pocket,  assuring  her  that  she  would  be  arrested  before  she 
left  the  steamer  at  Greenock;  yet  she  left  her  sick  husband 
and  family,  determined  to  face  a  prison,  perhaps  penal  servi- 
tude, to  meet  the  charge.  On  the  last  day  of  a  most  tempestu- 
ous 'voyage  she  told  the  captain,  to  his  great  astonishment, 
that  the  police  would  come  on  board  to  take  her  to  London. 
She  sang  her  last  song  with  her  fellow-passengers,  and  quietly 
went  on  shore  with  the  officer  in  plain  clothes  who  bore  the 
warrant  for  her  arrest.     He  did  his  best  to  find  her  decent 


434  APPENDIX   II. 

accommodation  in  London,  but  was  obliged  to  take  her  to 
Bow  Street.  The  old  police-court  and  lock-up  here  is  one  of 
the  worst  in  London,  and  in  one  of  the  lowest  districts,  includ- 
ing St.  Giles  and  the  Seven  Dials.  Fielding  has  left  a  graphic 
account  of  what  he  had  to  deal  with  when  he  was  a  Bow-street 
magistrate.  A  new  court  and  prison  of  magnificent  propor- 
tions are  nearly  completed;  but  in  the  mean  time  the  old  ones 
are  at  their  worst,  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  obliged  to  stay  there 
one  night.  Her  friends,  who  met  her  at  the  railway  terminus, 
did  the  best  they  could,  by  buying  rugs,  etc.,  to  make  her  com- 
fortable; and  in  the  morning,  after  the  formal  charge,  she  was 
remanded  to  the  House  of  Detention. 

It  is  a  principle  of  English  law  that  an  accused  person  is  to 
be  considered  innocent  until  he  is  proven  guilty:  the  practice 
is  to  treat  him  worse  than  if  he  were  guilty  until  he  is  proven 
to  be  innocent.  Mr.  Flowers,  the  magistrate,  considered  the 
charge,  as  made  by  the  Jewish  police-lawyer  Abrahams,  so  seri- 
ous, that  he  refused  bail:  so  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  taken  to  Clerk- 
en  well.  Two  persons  were  allowed  to  speak  to  her  each  day, 
for  fifteen  minutes,  through  a  grating.  She  was  compelled  to 
live  on  prison-fare;  and  all  presents,  even  fruits  and  flowers, 
were  rigidly  excluded.  This,  however,  did  not  last  long.  Mr. 
Lewis,  one  of  the  best  London  solicitors,  was  engaged;  and 
when  he  stated  to  the  magistrate  that  the  property  of  the  prose- 
cutrix had  been  restored  to  her  and  that  he  had  a  perfect 
defence,  bail  in  five  thousand  dollars  was  accepted,  and  given 
at  once  by  two  prominent  Spiritualists,  one  of  whom  is  him- 
self a  magistrate  and  a  man  of  wealth  and  position. 

The  remand  was  for  a  week.  A  crowded  court  welcomed 
Mrs.  Fletcher  to  her  seat  of  honor  in  the  prisoner's  dock  in 
the  centre  of  the  court.  Her  solicitor  was  ready  to  cross-ex- 
amine the  prosecutrix,  but  there  was  a  further  delay.    A  few 


APPENDIX   II.  435 

months  ago  a  reform  was  made  in  English  criminal  proceed- 
ings, by  the  appointment  of  a  public  prosecutor.  This  officer 
had  decided  that  this  case  was  one  of  public  interest;  and  he 
took  it  out  of  the  hands  of  Mr.  Abrahams,  and  instructed  Mr. 
"VVontner,  who,  of  course,  wanted  time  for  preparation :  so  the 
case  went  over  to  Dec.  21. 

Mrs.  Fletcher  has  come  here  expressly  to  have  a  full  investi- 
gation. Mr.  Fletcher's  medical  adviser  would  not  consent  to 
his  crossing  the  Atlantic.  She  is  quite  equal  to  the  occasion, 
and  confident  of  success.  Her  friends  are  perfectly  satisfied 
of  her  innocence;  and  those  who  were  disposed  at  first  to 
blame  her  and  her  husband  for  imprudence  are  obliged  to 
admit,  when  they  know  the  circumstances,  that  they  would 
probably  have  done  the  same.  It  is  not  possible  to  predict  the 
verdict  of  a  British  jury,  perhaps  of  any  jury.  I  have  seen  a 
man  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  death,  whom  I  knew  to  be 
innocent.  He  received,  a  few  days  later,  her  Majesty's  par- 
don. The  red  tape  in  the  hangman's  halter  could  be  cut 
no  other  way.  I  have  not  a  shadow  of  doubt  of  the  perfect 
innocence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher,  nor  that,  in  all  this  mat- 
ter, they  did  what  they  thought  was  for  the  best  in  regard  to 
the  woman  who  is  now  doing  her  worst  to  destroy  them.  And 
I  have  no  doubt  that  this  prosecution  will  advance  the  cause 
of  Spiritualism  more,  perhaps,  than  many  years  of  ordinary 
effort. 

The  Fletcher  trial  was,  of  course,  adjourned  over  the  holi- 
davs,  and  will  be  resumed  on  the  Tth  of  January.  Mr.  Lewis, 
the  solicitor  for  the  defence,  will  do  his  best  to  get  justice  for 
his  client:  but  in  the  higher  court,  which  will  try  the  case  if 
it  goes  to  trial,  no  solicitor  can  appear;  he  can  only  instruct 
a  barrister.  And  the  cost  of  legal  proceedings,  the  cost  of  jus- 
tice, in  this  country,  is  enormous.  A  solicitor  of  Mr.  Lewis's 
standing  expects  a  retaining-fee  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 


436  APPENDIX   II. 

dollars,  with  corresponding  fees  for  each  appearance  in  court. 
The  barrister  will  require  one  thousand  dollars,  and  his  junior, 
five  hundred  dollars,  with  daily  "  refreshers."  The  chance  of 
a  poor  man  is  very  small.  Happily  Mrs.  Fletcher  has  friends 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

What  we  want  is  a  full  and  fair  trial,  in  which  evidence 
shall  be  given  of  the  facts  of  Spiritualism.  A  hundred  wit- 
nesses of  the  highest  credibility  can  be  put  into  the  witness- 
box  to  testify  that  they  have  received  undoubted  messages 
from  their  spirit-friends -through  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher.  Per- 
sons as  high  as  any  in  English  society,  even  the  very  highest, 
can  give  this  testimony.  Our  only  fear  is,  that  the  case  may 
break  down  before  this  evidence  is  admitted,  and  published  to 
the  world. 

Success  in  any  way  provokes  envy,  and  of  envy  conies 
malice  and  all  sorts  of  uncharitableness.  Spiritualists,  I 
regret  to  say,  are  much  like  other  people.  Those  who  make 
friends  thereby  make  enemies.  The  chief  inciter  of  the  prose- 
cution is  a  healing-medium,  so  called;  and  his  most  active 
coadjutor  is,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  the  editor  of  a  Spiritualist 
paper.  It  is  not  pleasant  to  see  such  things,  but  I  remember 
that  Judas  was  one  of  the  twelve. 

The  importance  of  the  case  to  Spiritualism  rests  upon  the 
fact,  that  every  medium  in  England  who  takes  two  and  six- 
pence for  a  seance  is  liable  to  be  prosecuted,  and  sent  to  prison 
for  three  months,  under  a  law  passed  in  the  reign  of  George 
III.  against  fortune-tellers. 

"  Light,"  a  new  Spiritualist  weekly  paper,  is  to  be  published 
on  the  8th  of  January,  and  not  too  soon,  for  we  very  much 
need  a  good  organ  of  the  cause  in  the  world's  metropolis. 

T.  L.  Nichols. 

32  Fopstone-road,  Earl's  Court,  London,  S.W., 
Dec.  29,  1880. 


APPENDIX  III. 

REPORT   OF   THE   OPENING   SPEECH   OF  MR.   MON- 
TAGU WILLIAMS  FOR  THE  PROSECUTION. 

In  opening  the  case  for  the  prosecution,  Mr.  Montagu 
Williams  said  he  had  to  lay  before  the  jury  a  story  of  fraud 
and  chicanery  which  had  been  seldom  equalled,  and  never  sur- 
passed, in  the  history  of  the  criminal  courts  of  this  country. 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  the  prosecutrix,  was  a  lady  thirty-eight 
years  of  age,  the  daughter  of  a  Mrs.  Heurtlcy,  a  lady  of  con- 
siderable property,  and  much  addicted  to  jewelry  and  finery  — 
a  complaint,  he  believed,  very  common  amongst  the  sex.  In 
the  course  of  her  life  Mrs.  Heu'rtley  amassed  a  large  quantity 
of  jewels  and  a  collection  of  valuable  lace.  When  she  died, 
she  possessed  lace  to  the  value  of  four  thousand  or  six  thou- 
sand pounds.  In  addition,  there  were  jewelry,  Indian  shawls, 
silks,  and  other  articles  of  that  description,  amounting,  with 
the  lace,  to  something  like  ten  thousand  pounds.  Mrs.  Heurt- 
ley  had  also  a  good  deal  of  money;  and  to  the  prosecutrix,  her 
only  surviving  daughter,  she  left  the  whole  of  this  property. 
There  was  a  life-interest  intervening,  but  eventually  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  would  come  into  a  fortune  of  many  thousands  of 
pounds.  Eighteen  years  ago  the  prosecutrix  married  a  man 
named  Rickards,  by  whom  she  had  one  child,  a  boy,  now  aged 
seventeen;  but  the  union  was  not  a  happy  one,  and,  after  much 

437 


438  appendix  in. 

mutual  disagreement,  husband  and  wife  separated.  Subse- 
quently Mr.  Rickards  instituted  a  suit  for  divorce,  alleging 
adultery  against  his  wife,  who,  whilst  denying  her  guilt,  was 
persuaded  by  her  mother  that  the  best  way  of  dissolving  the 
incompatible  marriage  was  to  allow  judgment  to  go  by  default. 
Accordingly,  no  appearance  was  made  to  the  suit,  and  a  rule 
absolute  was  decreed.  Now,  during  the  time  prosecutrix  was 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Rickards,  she  became  acquainted,  through  her 
husband,  with  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Lindmark,  a  fact 
which  he  only  mentioned  because  it  was  likely  they  might  hear 
a  deal  about  him,  during  the  case,  from  the  other  side.  Some 
time  after  the  divorce  the  prosecutrix  married  a  Mr.  Hart- 
Davies.  Again  the  union  was  not  a  happy  one;  but  it  was 
during  the  time  that  she  was  living  with  that  gentleman  at  79 
Farquhar  Lodge,  Upper  Norwood,  that  she  became  acquainted 
with  the  prisoner  and  her  husband.  Mr.  Hart-Davies  was 
suffering  from  some  ailment;  and  the  man  Fletcher,  who  was 
credited  with  knowing  something  about  curative  processes, 
was  called  in  to  attend  him.  In  this  way  began  the  intimacy 
between  the  prosecutrix  and  the  Fletchers,  who  were  then 
living  at  22  Gordon  Square.  Shortly  afterwards  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  moved  to  Vernon  Place,  Bloomsbury,  and  afterwards 
went  to  Tours.  On  her  return  she  went  to  live  with  the 
Fletchers.  By  and  by  a  party  was  formed  for  a  trip  to  America. 
It  consisted  of  the  Fletchers  and  a  stepson,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies, 
and  Mr.  Lindmark.  At  New  York  the  company  separated, 
Mr.  Lindmark  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  going  one  way,  and  Mr. 
Fletcher,  his  stepson,  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  the  other;  the 
arrangement  being  that  they  should  meet  at  Pleasant  Lake, 
which  they  did.  Up  to  this  time  the  Fletchers  were  appar- 
ently firm  and  fast  friends  of  the  prosecutrix.  He  should  here 
tell  the  jury,  that  at  the  very  first  interview  Mr.  Fletcher  dis- 


appendix  in.  439 

covered  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  a  person  of  "extreme  psy- 
chic force;"  and  he  told  her,  that,  heing  a  man  of  spiritualistic 
and  mesmeric  influence,  he  had  the  power  of  communicating 
by  media  with  the  spirit-world,  wherever  that  might  be.  Mr. 
Fletcher  seemed  to  have  discovered  this  "psychic  force"  in 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  by  taking  hold  of  her  hand,  which  sent  him 
into  a  trance,  during  which  he  had  communication  with  the 
mother  of  that  lady  in  the  spirit-world.  It  was  by  this  sort  of 
delusion,  and  the  influence  created  out  of  it,  that  the  prisoner 
and  her  husband  were  able  to  denude  the  unfortunate  prosecu- 
trix of  every  article  she  had  in  the  world.  The  fraud  was 
rendered  the  more  easy  because  of  the  deep  affection  which 
had  existed  between  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  and  her  mother.  The 
Fletchers  seemed  to  have  discovered  the  confiding  nature  of 
the  prosecutrix,  and,  from  the  commencement  to  the  end,  to 
have  worked  upon  the  credulity  of  the  unfortunate  lady,  who 
really  believed  that  through  them  she  could  commune  with  her 
dead  mother.  Now,  the  jury  would  find  mixed  up  with  all  this 
Spiritualism  an  unexampled  amount  of  blasphemy.  Having 
made  the  prosecutrix  believe  that  he  was  a  powerful  medium, 
the  man  Fletcher  induced  her  to  attend  several  seances  at  Stein- 
way  Hall,  where  she  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  Fletcher,  who  with 
female  acuteness  soon  discovered  that  she  was  possessed  of  a 
large  quantity  of  valuable  jewelry,  and  was  also  entitled  to  the 
reversion  of  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  The  Fletchers  then 
seemed  to  have  laid  their  heads  together  with  a  view  to  deprive 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  of  all  she  had  got.  They  did,  in  fact,  strip 
her  of  every  thing;  and,  furthermore,  they  induced  her  to  exe- 
cute a  deed  of  gift  and  a  will,  making  over  to  them  all  she  was 
entitled  to.  For  this  purpose  Mr.  Morton,  an  American,  was 
brought  on  the  scene.  He  was  represented  as  a  sort  of  secre- 
tary or  lawyer ;  and  he  drew  up  a  document  assigning  away  all 


440  APPENDIX   III. 

Mrs.  Hart-Davies's  property.  Not  satisfied  with  this  letter,  it 
was  suggested  that  the  prosecutrix  should  make  a  will.  She 
had  parted  with  all  her  property  in  esse  ;  but  there  was  a  large 
sum  of  money,  thirty  thousand  or  forty  thousand  pounds,  to 
which  she  would  become  entitled  on  the  death  of  a  lady  now 
living.  Of  that  right,  Morton  induced  the  prosecutrix  to  will 
away  every  single  shilling  to  the  prisoner  in  the  dock.  She 
had  been  prepared  for  this  by  messages  pretending  to  come 
from  her  mother  in  spirit-land.  The  following  was  one  of 
them :  — 

"Oh,  yes,  I  see  it  all  — all  the  past!  Poor,  poor  child!  You  have 
already  suffered  far  more  than  the  common  share  of  mankind ;  the  body  and 
spirit  have  been  worn  by  the  varied  terrible  trials  which  have  preyed  upou 
your  strength;  and  more  is  that  you  have  courageously  sacrificed  and  ruled 
yourself  to  keep  them  shut  out  from  the  world's  cognizance.  Do  you  know 
what  has  been  up  to  this  hour  your  symbol?  It  has  been  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  about  so  high  (here  the  medium  held  his  hand  about  four  feet  from 
the  ground).  Although  you  are  so  wasted  by  the  persecuting  reverses  of 
your  hitherto  sad,  sad  life,  yet  have  courage;  for,  my  child,  I  am  deputed  to 
tell  you  that  all  your  experiences  are  known  to  Heaven.  Yes,  God  knows 
all  your  disappointments,  all  your  hopes  made  barren,  all  the  unrequited 
cravings  of  your  loving  heart.  He  knows  your  secret  mental  conflicts  and 
your  trials.  .  .  .  No,  he  will  not  count  these  against  you.  Take  comfort, 
therefore,  and  learn  that  God  remembers  not  against  us  our  poor  mistakes 
of  ignorance.  Our  motives  are  what  he  searches,  and  keeps  the  records  of. 
Cease  to  grieve,  with  fears,  lest  God's  favor  is  withheld  from  you.  Ah,  no! 
for  not  one  of  your  ardent  longings  and  searchings  after  excellence  of  mind 
and  life  are  lost  to  him.  He  garners  them  up  :  they  are  approved  of  by  him. 
Know  that  the  Father  is  with  you,  and  that  you  are  loved  by  him.  Some 
troubles  will  yet  visit  you,  but  your  future  will  become  happier  after  a  time. 
Strive  all  you  can  to  place  yourself  iu  lively  company.  Your  present  life  is 
unsuitable,  and  is  wearing  you  away;  because  your  nerve-power  is  continu- 
ally being  thrown  off  without  any  return  of  the  necessary  vital  power  to 
replace  that  which  is  lost,  and  which  only  can  be  conveyed  to  you  by  influ- 
ences even  more  energetic  than  your  own.    In  your  present  life  and  sur- 


APPENDIX  in.  441 

rouudings  you  fail  to  receive  that  benefit.  For  want  of  a  reciprocal  strength 
imparting  force  for  yourself,  the  quality  you  possess,  of  yielding  your  ner- 
vous power  to  those  about  you,  will  deter  all  hope  of  your  recovering  from 
the  wasting  decay  which  saps  up  your  life,  until  the  neceseary  support  of  a 
strong,  inflowing  nerve-essence  is  produced.  I  warn  you,  that,  fur  the  want 
of  this  influence,  you  are  wearing  out  your  life :  therefore  you  really  must  cul- 
tivate the  society  of  lively  people,  and  be  fed  by  the  surroundings  of  highly 
nervous  life.  Be  in  that  life.  You  must  be  very  careful  of  yourself.  You 
have  no  disease;  but  I  have  told  you  the  cause  of  your  sinking  vitality,  and 
it  is  the  result  of  that  cause  that  your  circulation  is  imperfect.  Your  blood 
becomes  absorbed  unnaturally  into  the  system,  and  it  is  now  partly  water 
with  the  blood  :  hence  you  complain  of  languor,  and  weakness  at  the  heart. 
I  repeat  emphatically,  that,  in  your  present  life  and  surroundings,  you  give 
out  to  those  around  you  your  nerve-force ;  and,  as  you  receive  none  in  return, 
thiii  is  wearing  your  life  away,  day  by  day,  slowly  and  slowly.  When  you 
feel  so  ill  and  weary,  the  spirit  of  your  mother  often  is  with  you,  by  your 
bed,  striving  to  impart  fresh  strength  to  you.  This,  however,  can  only  be 
successfully  accomplished  by  the  aid  of  favorable  surrounding  influences  of 
earth-life.  Cultivate  them,  and  get  them  about  you.  Be  not  anxious  about 
your  future.  Try  and  get  stronger,  and  so  enjoy  life  in  the  daily  present: 
it  is  best  so.  Again  I  say,  Be  comforted  and  of  good  cheer,  and  have  no 
fears  that  God  has  ever  cast  you  out  of  his  favor  and  love.  You  have  a 
humble  heart;  and  all  throughout  your  life  you  have  truly  repented  even  the 
slightest  faults,  ay,  even  to  regretting  them  so  painfully  as  to  have  robbed 
you  of  much  strength.  Yet  every  regret  is  treasured  in  heaven,  and  will 
become  your  spirit's  recompense  hereafter;  and  your  habitual  secret  aspira- 
tions after  what  is  just  and  good  will  cause  you  to  become  all  that  you 
desire,  and  great  will  be  your  reward  in  the  other  life.  Hope  is  yours. 
Live  in  the  present,  and  ask  God's  blessing  upon  your  present.  Always 
cultivate  your  natural  longings  for  spirit-intercourse:  it  is  a  necessity  to 
you,  and  will  help  to  support  you.  It  is  almost  more  than  meat  and  drink 
to  you.  Is  your  mother  here  now?  Yes,  dear  child.  She  places  her  hands 
over  your  head.  She  is  often  with  you.  She  is  your  guardian  spirit.  When 
you  die  — oh!  I  can  see.  it  is  your  mother  who  will  come  with  open  arma 
to  receive  you.  She  will  place  a  wreath  of  bright,  shining  flowers  upon  your 
head.  You  will  hear  above  you  angels'  voices  6inging  in  rejoicing  at  the 
birth  of  another  spirit  into  spirit-life.     To  see  a  light  afar  off.     There  is 


442  APPENDIX   III. 

the  home  already  prepared  for  you  in  heaven.  Be  at  peace,  my  poor  child, 
and  remember  all  you  have  just  heard.  Live  in  hope,  and  trust  as  you  have 
ever  trusted,  and  be  happy.     Good-by." 

The  jury  would  see  that  there  was  an  amount  of  blas- 
phemy mixed  up  in  these  matters  that  was  perfectly  terrible. 

This  message,  I  must  here  observe,  had  been  copied  from 
the  note-book  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  where  she  had  written 
it  down  from  memory.  Of  course  I  cannot  speak  as  to  its 
accuracy,  but  it  seems  very  improbable  that  any  one  should 
afterwards  be  able  to  record  verbatim  so  long  a  message. 

Mr.  Williams  then  read  another  message,  also  recorded 
from  memory  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  and  then  said,  — 

Then  there  was  another  message,  signed  "Mums,"  which  he 
[Mr.  Williams]  supposed  was  short  for  "mother"  in  the  spirit- 
world. 

The  Judge.  —  It  may  be  another  spirit. 

Mr.  Williams.  —  I  do  not  suppose  it  means  the  "spar- 
kling," my  lord.  [Laughter.]  The  learned  counsel  went  on 
to  say,  that,  when  Morton  was  introduced  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  up  the  deed  of  gift,  the  prosecutrix  was  on  one  occa- 
sion asked  to  look  into  a  crystal  globe,  where,  the  Fletchers 
said,  a  man  was  to  be  seen  writing.  This  was  done  as  a  prepa- 
ration for  what  was  to  follow.  It  was  suggested  that  an 
intimacy  of  an  improper  character  had  existed  between  Mr. 
Lindmark  and  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  but  the  prosecutrix  would 
give  an  unqualified  denial  to  that  imputation  in  the  witness- 
box.  She  lost  sight  of  the  man  for  several  years ;  but,  when 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  went  to  live  with  the  prisoner  and  her  hus- 
band, he  suddenly  turned  up  again.  He  represented  himself 
as  a  materialist,  and,  getting  introduced  to  the  Fletchers  at 


APPENDIX  III.  443 

their  seances,  became  a  constant  visitor  at  Gordon  Square. 
There  was  no  doubt  that  he  was  on  terms  of  the  greatest  inti- 
macy with  Mrs.  Fletcher,  as  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  she 
accompanied  him  by  herself  in  America.  Previous  to  starting 
on  the  voyage,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  noticed  this  intimacy; 
and,  when  the  party  got  on  board  ship,  the  prisoner  treated  her 
with  a  certain  coldness.  As  the  intimacy  of  Mrs.  Fletcher 
with  Lindmark  increased,  the  intimacy  between  the  two  women 
declined.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  noticed  that  the  prisoner  had  with 
her  on  the  steamer  a  large  number  of  boxes,  which  they  now 
knew  contained  the  bulk  of  prosecutrix'  property;  and,  by 
the  time  they  had  met  at  Lake  Pleasant,  she  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  she  had  been  swindled.  The  law  was  appealed 
to,  and  a  portion  of  the  property  recovered ;  and,  on  her  re- 
turn to  England,  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  managed  also  to  repossess 
herself  of  a  quantity  of  goods  which  had  been  left  behind 
at  Gordon  Street.  In  consequence  of  the  proceedings  that 
had  been  taken,  the  deed  of  gift  was  declared  null  and  void, 
and  the  will  was  cancelled.  He  was  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
defence  could  be  raised  to  the  indictment.  Would  his  learned 
friend  contend,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  the  property  was  left 
with  the  prisoner  for  safe  custody  ?  If  so,  why  did  she  not 
deliver  it  up  when  it  was  demanded  ?  and  where,  in  that  case, 
was  the  necessity  for  the  deed  of  gift,  or  the  will  ?  In  all 
probability  the  defence  would  be,  that  the  properly  was  made 
a  free  gift  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  prisoner  and  her  husband, 
and  that  she  was  not  induced  to  execute  that  gift  by  fraud. 
That  would  be  the  exact  point,  which  he  believed  his  lordship 
would  leave  to  the  jury;  but  he  should  submit,  upon  the  evi- 
dence he  had  to  call,  that  under  the  false  pretence  that  these 
people  had  the  power  of  communing  with  the  spirit -world,  and 
of  bringing  this  unfortunate  lady  into  communication  with 


444  appendix  in. 

her  dead  mother,  the  prisoner  and  the  absent  defendants  in- 
duced Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  part  with  all  the  property  she  pos- 
sessed. The  jury,  he  thought,  would  have  no  hesitation  in 
coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the  prisoner  and  her  husband, 
and  the  man  Morton,  were  jugglers,  and  that  they  confederated 
and  combined  to  cheat  the  prosecutrix  out  of  her  property. 


APPENDIX   IV. 

CHARGE  TO  THE  JURY  BY  JUSTICE  HAWKINS. 

The  learned  judge  proceeded  to  sum  up.  The  indictment, 
which  consisted  of  nine  counts,  charged,  he  said,  the  prisoner 
with  obtaining  by  false  pretences  a  quantity  of  jewelry,  wear- 
ing-apparel, and  other  goods,  and  also  the  execution  of  a  deed 
of  gift.  The  substance  of  the  false  pretences  was,  that  the 
prisoner,  in  connection  with  her  husband  and  a  man  named 
Morton,  represented  to  the  prosecutrix  that  the  spirit  of  her 
deceased  mother  had  desired  that  these  gifts  should  be  made, 
and  the  deed  executed;  and  the  prosecution  alleged  that  these 
pretences  were  false  to  the  knowledge  of  the  accused  person. 
Then  there  were  other  counts,  charging  the  prisoner  with  con- 
spiring with  her  husband  and  Morton  in  respect  to  the  same 
property  and  the  deed  of  gift.  There  was  a  count  charging 
conspiracy  to  steal;  but  upon  that  point  he  should  direct  a 
verdict  of  not  guilty,  there  being  no  evidence  to  support  the 
allegation.  There  was  yet  another  count,  charging  that  the 
prisoner,  in  company  with  two  other  persons,  pretended  to 
withcraft,  sorcery,  and  enchantment;  but  he  considered  that 
part  of  the  indictment  so  utterly  bad,  that  he  had  taken  upon 
himself  to  quash  it.  Before  dealing  with  the  evidence  that 
had  been  adduced  in  support  of  the  various  charges,  his  lord- 
ship laid  before  the  jury  a  general  history  of  the  case,  com- 

445 


446  APPENDIX  IV. 

meriting  upon  various  points  as  he  proceeded.  The  object  of 
the  cross-examination  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  in  reference  to  her 
divorce  was  to  disparage  the  credit  of  the  prosecutrix;  but  it 
would  be  for  the  jury  to  say  whether,  after  the  explanation 
they  had  heard  of  that  case,  —  viz.,  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  put ' 
in  no  answer  to  the  charge  of  adultery,  not  because  she  was  • 
guilty,  but  because  she  desired  to  dissolve  an  unhappy  mar- 
riage, —  sufficient  remained  to  induce  them  to  withhold  credit 
to  the  lady's  statements.  Again :  it  had  been  suggested  that  the 
estimate  of  ten  thousand  pounds,  which  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  put 
on  her  property,  could  not  be  true,  inasmuch  as  she  had  herself 
sworn  her  mother's  estate  under  a  hundred  pounds.  Of  course 
it  would  be  a  serious  matter  if  it  could  be  shown  that  the  prose- 
cutrix swore  the  property  below  its  proper  value  in  order  to 
defraud  the  revenue  by  avoiding  legacy  duty;  but  whether  it 
would  disentitle  her  to  belief  in  this  case  was  a  question  en- 
tirely for  the  jury.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  however,  had  explained 
that  the  property  was  given  her  by  her  mother  during  her  life- 
time. In  one  part  of  her  evidence  the  prosecutrix  said  that  the 
Fletchers  got  from  her,  not  only  her  jewels  and  clothes,  but 
also  the  greater  part  of  her  income  of  three  hundred  pounds  a 
year.  Whence  that  income  was  derived,  they  knew  not.  They 
knew  there  was  a  Mr.  James  Penrose  Hart-Davies,  that  he  had 
been  a  sailor,  and  that  his  wife  desired  him  to  be  treated  with 
respect,  but  beyond  that  they  had  no  information  as  to  the 
gentleman.  Whether,  in  the  end,  it  would  be  desirable  to  have 
some  further  introduction  of  Mr.  Hart-Davies  was  for  the  jury 
to  consider.  In  regard  to  the  relationship  of  the  pair,  there 
was  no  trace  of  disagreement  between  them  during  the  time 
they  were  at  Farquhar  Lodge.  Whilst  there,  tbey  had  it  in 
contemplation  to  visit  town  together;  but,  from  the  moment 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  left  Vernon  Place  on  that  journey,  they  did 


APPENDIX   IV.  447 

not  seem  to  have  been  again  in  communication.  How  and 
why  the  relationship  was  broken,  the  jury  might  possibly  divine 
for  themselves;  but  it  was  only  right  to  say  that  it  was  not 
suggested  that  Mr.  Hart-Davies  had  been  guilty  of  any  cruelty 
or  impropriety  that  caused  his  wife  to  separate  from  him.  Now, 
.as  to  the  persons  who  were  represented  as  the  criminal  actors 
in  the  scene,  —  the  Fletchers  and  their  friend  Morton,  —  it  was 
necessary  that  he  should  explain,  that,  although  they  were 
jointly  charged  in  the  indictment,  it  was  open  to  the  jury  to 
find  all  of  them,  or  either  of  them,  guilty  or  not  guilty.  He 
must  say,  that,  in  regard  to  some  of  the  charges,  he  had  failed 
to  find  any  evidence  fixing  criminality  on  Morton.  Of  Mr. 
Fletcher's  antecedents  they  had  no  information  whatsoever, 
except  that  he  was  an  American  and  a  Spiritualistic  doctor 
giving  seances  and  lectures  at  Steinway  Hall.  Of  Mrs.  Fletcher 
they  had  scarely  any  more  information.  Whether  she  was 
English  or  American  by  birth,  they  knew  not.  All  they  knew 
was,  that  she  got  a  society  around  her  at  Gordon  Street,  and 
that  she  took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  her  husband's  Spiritu- 
alist proceedings.  It  was  whilst  the  Hart-Davieses  were  at 
Farquhar  Lodge  that  the  acquaintance  with  the  Fletchers  com- 
menced, first  of  all  by  the  introduction  of  the  husband  as  a 
Spiritualistic  doctor.  The  prosecutrix,  at  that  time,  was  an 
imaginative,  excitable  sort  of  person,  already  admitting  herself 
to  be  somewhat  of  a  believer  In  Spiritualism,  inasmuch  as  she 
affirmed  that  she  had  seen  her  dead  mother  in  her  dreams  and 
her  waking  visions.  It  was  alleged  that  the  prisoner  and  her 
husband,  finding  the  prosecutrix  to  be  a  weak,  flighty  woman, 
inclined  to  believe  all  that  was  told  her  concerning  Spiritual- 
ism, laid  their  heads  together  to  deprive  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  of 
her  property  by  communicating  to  her  messages  purporting  to 
come  from  her  dead  mother,  but  which  they  knew  to  be  false. 


448  APPENDIX  IV. 

The  question  was  not  whether  the  Fletchers  got  the  jewels 
by  representing  that  the  spirit  of  the  dead  mother  had  really 
communicated  to  her  that  which  induced  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to 
part  with  them;  the  question  was,  ay  or  nay,  did  the  prisoner 
honestly  believe  the  truth  of  what  she  told  the  i  rosecutrix  ?  Did 
the  Fletchers  honestly  believe  that  they  weie  in  communion 
with  the  spirit  of  the  mother?  Did  prisoner  believe  the  dead 
mother  had  in  words  communicated,  through  the  medium  of 
Mr.  Fletcher,  an  order  that  her  daughter  should  part  with  her 
jewels  and  clothes,  or  did  she  avail  herself  of  the  credulity  of 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  tell  her  that  which  she  knew  to  be  untrue, 
with  the  view  to  induce  her  to  part  with  her  property  ?  It 
would  be  shocking  to  suppose  that  an  honest  belief  in  Spiritual- 
ism was  a  crime  according  to  the  law  of  this  country.  People 
had  a  right  to  believe  that  which  they  thought  fit.  As  he  had 
said,  the  question  was  not  whether  a  hundred  thousand  or  more 
of  persons  believed  in  Spiritualism,  or  in  communion  with  the 
departed,  but  whether  fraudulent  concoctions  had  been  passed 
off  upon  the  prosecutrix  as  messages  coming  from  the  spirit 
of  her  mother.  That  was  the  sole  question  the  jury  had  to 
determine,  and  their  verdict  would  not  in  the  slightest  degree 
affect  the  conscientious  belief  of  those  interested  in  this  in- 
quiry. Now,  they  would  remember  that  Mrs.  Hart-Davies, 
in  her  evidence,  stated  that  she  told  Mr.  Fletcher  at  the 
first  interview  that  she  had  been  more  than  a  common  suf- 
ferer, but  that  she  did  not  enter  into  details.  In  the  message 
she  then  received  she  was  told  by  ''Mamma,"  "You  have 
suffered  more  than  the  common  share  of  mankind."  The 
message  was  couched  in  generalities.  There  were  no  refer- 
ences to  particular  persons,  places,  or  circumstances.  The 
only  person  referred  to  was  the  prosecutrix'  mother,  about 
whom  her  daughter  had  always  been  anxious,  and  of  whom 


APPENDIX   IV.  4-19 

m 
she  was  always  speaking.  There  was  no  mention  of  any  one 
whom  the  mother  had  known  in  life,  and  to  whom  she  could 
refer  her  daughter  for  that  counsel  and  advice  of  which  the 
message  alleged  she  stood  so  much  in  need.  This  fact  was 
worthy  of  remembrance  in  connection  with  the  fact,  that,  at 
that  time,  the  medium  through  whom  the  message  came  knew 
very  little  of  the  prosecutrix'  life.  At  the  introduction  at 
Upper  Norwood,  where  Mrs.  Fletcher  intimated  that  she  was 
so  attracted  to  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  that  she  desired  to  become 
as  a  sister,  the  jewels  were  shown  to  the  prisoner.  That  was 
important  to  recollect.  Some  short  time  afterwards,  dining 
one  of  her  trances,  Mrs.  Fletcher  communicated  a  message 
from  "Mamma,"  to  the  effect  that  her  daughter  should  not 
wear  the  jewels  too  often,  because  the  magnetism  in  them  Mas 
so  strong  that  it  might  help  to  take  her  out  of  the  world  be- 
fore her  time.  "  Mamma,"  in  fact,  directed  that  her  daughter 
should  hand  the  jewels,  for  affection's  sake,  to  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
to  hold  as  if  they  were  her  own.  After  that,  they  found  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  taking  an  amethyst  brooch  and  a  diamond  suite 
(the  jewels  prisoner  had  seen  at  Farquhar  Lodge)  to  Gordon 
Street,  where  the  table  rapped  out,  "Dear  Juliet,  do  as  I  have 
instructed  you  ; "  the  message  being  written  on  a  piece  of  paper 
by  Mrs.  Fletcher. 

A  Jukymax.  — Has  the  handwriting  been  identified? 

Me.  Williams.  — Mrs.  Hart-Davies  said  the  prisoner  wrote 
it. 

The  Judge.  —  Of  course  the  whole  of  this  case  depends  upon 
whether  you  believe  the  evidence  of  the  prosecutrix,  or  not.  If 
you  do  not,  the  whole  fabric  of  the  case  comes  down.  If  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies  has  not  spoken  the  truth,  if  she  has  concocted  these 
letters  for  the  purpose  of  convicting  the  prisoner  and  her  hus- 
band, then  her  machinations  would  be  of  so  diabolical  a  charac- 


450  APPENDIX   IV. 

ter  that  she  would  herself  deserve  to  stand  in  the  dock.  But 
here  you  have  her  evidence  that  she  saw  Mrs.  Fletcher  write 
•  the  message,  and  the  paper  bears  the  printed  heading  of  Gor- 
don Street.  The  learned  judge  went  on  to  say,  that  he  was 
bound  to  direct  the  jury  that  the  offence,  if  offence  there  was, 
was  completed  when  the  amethyst  brooch  and  the  diamonds 
were  handed  over.  The  question  was,  Did  Mrs.  Fletcher,  hav- 
ing seen  the  jewels  at  Norwood,  make  up  her  mind  to  become 
possessed  of  them?  and,  if  so,  did  she  invent  a  pretended  mes- 
sage from  the  mother  directing  them  to  be  handed  over  ?  If 
so,  did  the  jury  believe  that  it  was  in  consequence  of  these 
representations  the  jewels  were  handed  over  ?  If  they  came 
to  that  conclusion,  they  would  have  further  to  consider  whether 
Mrs.  Fletcher  knew  the  pretences  to  be  false,  and  put  them 
forward  for  the  purpose  of  cheating  and  defrauding  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  of  her  property.  They  would  remember  that  the 
prosecutrix  left  the  interview  with  Mrs.  Fletcher  under  the 
impression,  inferred  from  the  message,  that  she  had  disobeyed 
her  mother's  injunctions,  whereupon  she  packed  up  the  re- 
mainder of  her  jewels,  and  as  soon  as  possible  conveyed  them 
to  Gordon  Street.  Going  down  upon  her  knees,  she  placed  the 
jewels  in  Mr.  Fletcher's  lap.  That  gentleman  then  went  into 
a  trance,  and  delivered  a  message  purporting  to  come  from  the 
mother,  who  said,  "Bless  you,  my  child,  for  having  obeyed 
my  instructions,"  and  expressed  a  hope  that  "Bertie"  would 
have  no  compunction  as  to  wearing  the  jewels  as  if  they  were 
her  own.  It  was  for  the  jury  to  decide  what  construction  was 
to  be  put  on  those  incidents.  He  now  came  to  the  question  of 
the  wardrobe.  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  had  told  them  that  she  con- 
templated going  to  Tours,  and  that  the  Fletchers  had  urged 
her  to  send  her  property  to  their  house,  as  they  had  plenty  of 
room,  and  could  take  care  of  it  during  her  absence.     The  pris- 


APPENDIX   IV.  451 

oner  had  previously  seen  the  wardrobe  of  Mrs.  Heurtley,  and 
had  remarked  to  the  prosecutrix,  that  it  would  be  harmful  for 
her  to  touch  her  mother's  dresses,  because  of  the  magnetism 
that  was  in  them.  In  consequence  of  that,  the  prosecutrix 
had  informed  them  that  the  prisoner  packed  the  things  herself, 
and  they  were  taken  to  the  house  in  Gordon  Street.  Mrs. 
Ilart-Davies  said  she  had  no  objection  to  this,  because  it 
brought  her  nearer  to  her  mother.  The  things  remained  at 
the  Fletchers'  house  until  the  rupture  took  place  between  the 
parties,  except  those,  however,  which  were  taken  to  America. 
It  was  given  in  evidence  by  Mrs.  Hart-Uavies  that  there  was  an 
honorable  understanding  that  the  goods  should  be  returned  when 
tJtey  were  required.  That  might  be  so,  but  the  jury  must 
consider  the  matter.  They  must  not,  however,  find  the  main 
turning-point  there;  because,  although  there  might  have  been 
an  honorable  understanding,  notwithstanding  the  magnetism 
in  the  things,  that  they  should  be  returned,  the  jury  must 
consider  whether  there  was  an  intention  on  the  part  of  the 
Fletchers,  at  the  time  the  wardrobe  was  received,  honorably 
to  perform  such  an  engagement,  or  whether  the  understanding 
about  the  magnetism  was  simply  a  trick  to  induce  the  prosecu- 
trix to  part  with  her  property  in  the  way  described.  He  next 
came  to  the  third  charge,  and  that  was  with  reference  to  the 
deed  of  gift.  The  evidence  upon  that  matter  was  to  the  effect, 
that,  before  Mrs.  Davies  left  Farquhar  Lodge,  she  was  intro- 
duced to  Col.  Morton  by  the  Fletchers  at  their  house  in  Gordon 
Street.  She  was  informed  that  he  was  their  lawyer,  and  an 
American;  but  she  subsequently  ascertained  that  he  was  a 
lodger  in  the  house,  paying  two  guineas  a  week.  After  the 
first  interview  with  Morton,  Mrs.  Davies  saw  him  constantly. 
On  one  occasion  the  prosecutrix  was  alone  with  the  prisoner 
in  Gordon  Street,  when  the  latter  took  up  a  crystal  ball,  and 


452  APPENDIX   IV. 

said,  "  I  see  a  man  with  a  brown  beard  sitting  at  a  table  writ- 
ing, and  you  appear  to  be  sitting  beside  him."  Mrs.  Davies 
thereupon  said  she  recognized  the  man  with  the  brown  beard 
as  Mr.  Morton.  The  prisoner  told  her,  that,  since  she  had 
received  the  jewels,  she  felt  anxious  about  the  responsibility 
of  them,  for  fear  of  what  the  outside  world  might  say  when 
the  prosecutrix  had  gone  abroad.  She  then  asked  Mrs.  Davies 
to  give  her  some  protecting  document;  and,  for  the  purpose  of 
having  this  document  drawn  out,  slie  had  an  interview  with 
Col.  Morton.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  prisoner  had 
recommended  Mrs.  Davies  to  go  to  Morton,  and  he  [the  learned 
judge]  thought  it  right  that  he  should  here  state  with  reference 
to  Morton,  although  he  was  not  now  taking  his  trial,  what  was 
the  evidence  which  affected  him.  Although  it  was  charged 
against  him  that  he  induced  Mrs.  Davies  to  sign  the  deed, 
there  was  another  count  charging  him  with  conspiracy.  Mr. 
Addison,  so  far  as  the  conspiracy  counts  were  concerned,  had 
raised  a  point  to  the  effect  that  husband  and  wife  alone  could 
not,  in  point  of  law,  conspire,  and  therefore,  although  the  jury 
might  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Fletcher  and  his  wife  did 
conspire,  they  could  not  indict  them  jointly  for  conspiracy, 
because  husband  and  wife  were  supposed  to  have  only  one 
mind,  and  one  mind  could  not  conspire  with  itself.  The 
learned  counsel  drew  from  that,  that,  unless  Col.  Morton  was 
associated  with  the  Fletchers  as  a  conspirator,  the  charge  of 
conspiracy  against  husband  and  wife  could  not  be  sustained. 
That  objection  was  not  in  his  opinion  a  good  objection  in  law. 
It  would  be  revolting  to  common  sense,  if  it  were  shown  that 
the  wife  was  the  instigator  of  the  crime,  and  compelled  the 
husband  to  join  her—  it  would  be  revolting  if  the  law  were  in 
such  a  condition  as  this,  that  a  woman,  in  such  a  case  as  he 
had  instanced,  should  be  allowed  to  go  scot-free,  because  she 


APPENDIX    IV.  453 

was  married  to  the  man  whom  she  hy  her  influence  had 
forced  to  join  her  in  the  conspiracy,  and  that  the  husband 
should  be  left  to  hear  the  whole  brunt  of  the  charge;  Ik-  bad 
not  really  determined  the  point  raised  by  Mr.  Addison;  but,  b>r 
the  purposes  of  that  day,  he  had  come  to  a  decision,  and  he 
saw  no  reason  why  the  indictment  for  conspiracy  should  not 
he  urged  against  the  prisoner.  But  upon  that  matter  lie  must 
take  their  verdict.  If  they  found  that  the  prisoner  did  not 
conspire  with  Morton,  then  it  would  get  rid  of  the  legal  point 
that  had  been  raised;  but  they  must  not,  merely  for  the  sake 
of  getting  rid  of  the  legal  technical  objection,  strain  or  allow 
the  evidence  as  against  Morton  to  carry  them  beyond  the  fair 
and  legitimate  effect  of  that  evidence.  Although  Morton  was 
not  upon  his  trial,  it  was  necessary  that  they  should  inquire 
whether  he  joined  in  the  unlawful  conspiracy  and  combination. 
With  regard  to  the  original  false  pretence,  he  had  looked  in 
vain  to  find  any  evidence  that  Morton  was  one  of  those  who 
took  part  in  it.  There  was  nothing  to  make  him  a  joint  par- 
ticipator in  obtaining  the  jewels  and  wardrobe  by  false  pre- 
tences. But  the  next  question  arose,  Was  he  a  conspirator  to 
an  unlawful  deed?  and  did  he,  by  unlawful  means  and  by  false 
pretences,  combine  with  either  the  prisoner,  her  husband,  or 
with  both,  to  induce  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  to  sign  the  deed  of  gilt  ? 
It  might  be  that  the  Fletchers  induced  the  prosecutrix  to  go 
to  Morton  under  false  representations,  but  of  that  they  would 
have  to  inquire.  The  main  question  was,  Did  Morton  himself 
know  that  he  was  preparing  a  deed  which  was  of  a  fraudulent 
character  f  That  was  the  point,  so  far  as  it  affected  the  con- 
spiracy between  the  Fletchers  and  Morton;  and  the  jury  would 
have  to  consider  whether  the  conspiracy  existed  between  the 
Fletchers  and  Morton,  or  between  the  Fletchers  alone*.  The 
deed  which  was  drawn  up  by  Morton  gave   the   property  to 


454  APPENDIX   IV. 

Mrs.  Fletcher  to  be  hers  absolutely;  but  it  was  stated  by  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies,  that  the  prisoner  requested  that  the  things  which 
she  had  in  her  possession  should  be  made  more  binding  upon 
her.  For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  that  wish,  Mrs.  Davics 
again  sought  an  interview  with  Morton,  who  made  out  a  draught 
letter,  requesting  that  she  should  put  her  own  head  and  tail  to 
it,  and  copy  it  out  at  home.  The  prosecutrix  stated  that  she 
took  the  letter  home,  copied  it  upon  her  own  note-paper,  and 
sent  the  copy  to  the  prisoner.  That  letter  made  over  to  the 
prisoner,  as  a  humble  and  free  gift,  the  property  which  be- 
longed to  the  prosecutrix ;  and  the  jury  must  form  their  own 
conclusion  upon  the  whole  of  the  circumstances.  His  lordship 
next  directed  attention  to  the  events  which  took  place  after 
the  prosecutrix  left  Norwood  for  Vernon  Place.  Vernon  Place 
appeared  to  have  been  taken  for  some  temporary  purpose.  The 
prosecutrix  had  contemplated,  shortly  after  her  removal  there, 
a  visit  to  France;  and,  that  being  so,  the  subject  of  the  will  was 
introduced.  It  appeared  from  the  evidence  that  the  will  was 
made  at  the  suggestion  of  the  prosecutrix  herself.  She  sought 
another  interview  with  Morton  upon  the  matter,  and  he  sug- 
gested that  she  should  leave  her  property  where  it  was  most 
useful.  Thereupon  she  expressed  a  desire  that  it  should  be 
left  to  the  cause  of  Spiritualism  in  its  highest  phases.  Morton 
advised  her  that  her  intention  could  only  be  carried  out 
through  individuals,  and  remarked,  in  the  words  of  the  prose- 
cutrix, "Who  could  be  better  than  my  brother  and  sister?" 
meaning  the  Fletchers.  Mrs.  Davies  had  stated  that  she  had 
several  conversations  with  the  prisoner  about  the  will,  and 
said  that  she  spoke  to  her  mother,  through  the  prisoner,  upon 
the  subject,  receiving  the  answer,  "Go  to  Col.  Morton,  and  he 
will  recommend  a  good  solicitor."  She  obeyed  what  she  be- 
lieved to  be  the  command  of  her  mother,  delivered  through 


APPENDIX   IV.  455 

the  prisoner,  and  went  to  Col.  Morton,  who  accompanied  her 
to  the  firm  of  Field,  Roscoe,  & -Francis,  as  they  had  heard.  Jt, 
was  perfectly  certain,  that,  if  it  was  intended  that  the  prop- 
erty of  the  prosecutrix  should  be  disposed  of  so  as  to  promote 
the  interests  of  Spiritualism  in  its  highest  phases,  there  was 
no  such  suggestion  made  in  the  will  itself:  on  the  contrary, 
the  will  was  prepared  in  such  a  way  that  it  was  evidently 
intended  that  the  property  should  be  realized,  received,  and 
enjoyed  by  the  Fletchers  individually;  because  it  was  to  be 
divided  between  them  in  equal  moieties,  and  Mrs.  Fletcher 
was  to  enjoy  her  share  separately,  and  apart  from  her  husband. 
Whether  there  was  a  conspiracy  to  bring  about  that  state  of 
things  by  fraudulent  means,  was  a  question  for  consideration. 
He  would  have  them  understand  that  there  was  no  crime  in  a 
man  endeavoring  to  win  any  person  over  to  leave  him  property. 
If  undue  influence  wras  used,  a  will  could  be  set  aside;  but  the 
mere  exercise  of  civility,  affection,  or  persuasion,  with  a  view 
of  prevailing  upon  a  person  to  leave  property  in  a  certain 
direction,  was  not  a  crime.  The  charge  here  was  not  that  there 
was  undue  influence  exercised,  but  that  there  were  fraudulent 
practices.  In  his  opinion,  the  evidence  upon  that  point  icas 
much  slighter  than  upon  any  other  part  of  the  case.  Tbey 
might  say  that  it  was  wrong  to  exercise  undue  influence;  but, 
it  was  another  thing  to  say  that  that  constituted  a  criminal 
offence,  unless  the  execution  of  the  will  was  procured  by 
fraudulent  misrepresentations.  In  that  case,  of  course,  a 
charge  of  conspiracy  might  be  maintained.  The  evidence  of 
any  criminality  in  regard  to  this  will  was  very  weak;  though, 
at  the  same  time,  no  human  being  could  look  upon  the  docu- 
ment with  any  thing  like  favor. 

The  Court  at  this  point  adjourned  for  luncheon.     On  the 
resumption  of  the  proceedings, 


456  APPENDIX   IV. 

The  judge  proceeded  to  read  a  number  of  the  Fletcher 
letters,  which  to  his  mind  threw  considerable  light  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  bond  fides  of  the  prisoner  and  her  husband.  The 
word  "scrunch,"  which  appeared  so  frequently,  did  not  seem 
to  have  been  used  in  any  indecent  sense:  in  fact,  it  was  part  of 
the  sheerest  nonsense  in  the  world.  In  one  of  the  letters 
Mr.  Fletcher  spoke  of  a  box  of  linen  sent  to  Gordon  Street, 
which  had  an  influence  about  it  which  he  at  once  recognized  as 
coming  from  "  Julie."  It  turned  out,  however,  that  it  was  a 
box  of  servants'  dirty  linen:  so  how  it  could  have  possessed 
an  influence,  either  of  "Julie"  or  her  deceased  mother,  Mas 
difficult  to  understand.  There  was  no  doubt  that  Mrs.  Hart- 
Davies  did  spend  some  time  in  Paris  with  Mr.  Fletcher,  and 
iihe  admitted  having  sat  by  him,  and  laid  her  head  upon  his 
breast;  but  she  indignantly  denied  having  courted  any  immo- 
rality, and  afterwards  resented  what  she  thought  a  disposition 
on  the  part  of  Fletcher  to  treat  her  otherwise  than  as  a  brother 
should  a  sister.  The  jury,  perhaps,  would  be  able  to  judge 
from  the  letters  whether  there  was  any  such  disposition  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Fletcher.  It  was  not  quite  clear  why  the  party 
went  to  America,  —  it  might  have  been  some  magnetic  influ- 
ence which  attracted  them,  —  but  there  was  no  doubt  that  on 
the  way  out  this  lady,  who  was  to  have  represented  "  Affection 
in  the  Trinity,"  considered  that  she  had  been  neglected;  and 
the  film  having,  as  she  said,  dropped  from  her  eyes,  she  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  she  had  been  swindled.  It  was  impor- 
tant the  jury  should  not  overlook  the  words  of  Mrs.  Fletcher 
when  the  demand  was  made  in  America  for  the  restoration  of 
the  jewelry:  "If  you  take  those  jewels,  there  is  certain  and 
speedy  death  before  you."  It  was  immaterial  whether  the 
property  which  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  claimed  was  worth  five  thou- 
sand pounds  or  only  five  pounds.    No  doubt  in  a  civil  action  a 


APPENDIX   IV.  457 

great  deal  more  of  evidence  of  value  would  ho  required:  here, 
however,  all  the  jury  had  to  decide  was  whether  false  pre- 
tences, known  to  he  false  pretences,  were  used  to  induce  the 
prosecutrix  to  part  with  her  property.  In  regard  to  the  point 
raised  hy  the  counsel  for  the  defence,  —  that  the  prisoner,  being 
a  married  woman,  was  presumed  to  he  acting  under  the  coer- 
cion of  her  husband, — he  had  to  point  out  that  it  was  open  to 
the  prosecution  to  call  evidence  rebutting  such  presumption, 
and  showing  that  there  was  independent  action  on  the  part  of 
the  wife.  The  evidence  of  Mrs.  Hart-Davies  went  to  prove 
that  the  first  mention  of  the  jewels  did  not  come  from  Mr. 
Fletcher,  but  from  the  prisoner  at  that  interview  in  Gordon 
Street,  when  the  message  came  from  the  mother,  "Do  as  I 
have  instructed  you."  If  there  should  be  conviction  on  the 
conspiracy  count,  he  would  desire  the  jury,  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  the  point  raised  by  counsel  for  the  defence  that 
husband  and  wife  could  not  conspire,- to  give  their  opinion  as 
to  whether  Morton  with  the  Fletchers,  or  either  of  them,  con- 
spired to  obtain  the  deed  of  gift  or  the  will. 


APPENDIX  V. 

WHAT  PRISONS  ARE,   AND  WHAT  THEY  MIGHT 
BE. 

Aside  from  the  experiences  I  have  given,  my  life  in  prison 
was  very  monotonous.  Once  in  three  months,  three  times 
during  my  year's  imprisonment,  I  was  allowed  to  have  a 
visit  from  three  or  four  of  my  friends. 

The  reception-room  is  a  large  cell,  divided  by  strong  iron 
bars  into  three  cages  similar  to  those  in  which  very  savage 
beasts  are  kept  in  menageries.  In  the  central  cage  sits 
a  more  or  less  grim-looking  warder  in  a  chair,  looking  at  a 
clock  opposite  her,  which  marks  off  the  twenty  minutes 
allowed  for  each  visit,  and  to  see  that  the  conversation  is 
kept  within  proper  limits,  also  that  there  is  no  smuggling  of 
forbidden  luxuries,  especially  spirits  or  tobacco.  At  two  of 
these  visits  I  was  allowed,  when  my  friends  were  leaving,  to 
put  my  hand  through  a  little  hole  made  for  the  purpose  to 
be  shaken  and  kissed.  The  last  time,  and  perhaps  because 
it  was  the  last,  the  warder  graciously  unlocked  the  door,  and 
allowed  me  to  clasp  some  dear  friends  in  my  arms.  This 
was  granted  by  the  matron  as  a  special  favor. 

In  a  few  cases,  friends  who  had  some  special  and  satis- 
factory reasons,  business  or  otherwise,  applied  to  the  home 
458 


APPENDIX    V.  459 

secretary,  and  were  allowed  to  see  me,  but  under  the  same 
conditions.  My  friend  Mrs.  Nichols  wrote  to  Sir  William 
Harcourt  that  she  wished  to  see  me  about  my  health  and 
about  a  memorial  to  him  which  she  was  preparing ;  and  as 
she  was  over  seventy  years  old,  and  in  feeble  health,  she 
begged  that  she  might  be  placed  where  she  could  have  a 
chair  to  sit  in  while  talking  with  me;  begged  this  grace  for 
the  sake  of  Him  who  said,  "  /  toas  in  prison,  and  ye  came 
unto  me."  Her  prayer  was  not  granted.  She  came,  how- 
ever, and  talked  with  me  through  the  two  gratings  as  long 
as  she  could  stand,  or  the  woman  who  sat  keeping  watch  and 
ward,  permitted.  The  last  time  Mrs.  Nichols  visited  me 
she  was  allowed  a  wooden  chair. 

Of  my  personal  treatment  in  prison  I  have  much  to  be 
grateful  for,  and  little  to  complain  of.  The  "hard  labor" 
which  my  friends  thought  so  cruel  a  part  of  my  sentence  was 
a  great  resource  and  a  great  happiness  to  me.  It  took  me 
out  of  the  solitary  confinement  in  my  close,  dark  cell.  As 
it  was,  my  health  suffered  severely,  perhaps  permanently. 
The  prisons  for  convicts  whose  terms  are  less  than  five  years 
are  admittedly  far  worse  than  those  for  penal  servitude. 

Dr.  Nichols,  in  his  monthly  paper,  the  "  Herald  of 
Health,"  treating  the  matter  from  a  sanitary  and  moral 
point  of  view,  embodied  the  information  I  gave  him  in 
the  following  articles,  which  I  copy  because  the  facts  seem 
to  me  to  be  clearly  and  justly  stated,  and  because  their 
publication  led  to  some  agitation  in  the  press,  and  even  in 
Parliament,  and,  but  for  tlie  more  important  and  exciting 
subjects  of  Ireland  and  Egypt,  would  probably  have  obtained 
wider  notice. 


460  APPENDIX   V. 

Her  Majesty's  Prisons.  —Formerly  the  prisons  of  Eng- 
land were  horribly  unhealthy,  and  in  many  ways  utterly  dis- 
graceful. To  "rot  in  jail"  was  no  figure  of  speech,  but  a 
dreadful  reality.  Men  and  women  were  kept  in  dark  and  dirty 
holes,  with  no  regard  to  cleanliness  or  ventilation.  When 
transported  to  Virginia,  or  the  longer  distance,  to  Botany  Bay, 
the  transport-ships,  like  the  hulks  in  harbor,  were  "floating 
hells,"  and  half  or  more  of  the  convicts  died  on  the  passage 
of  bad  air,  bad  food,  and  lack  of  water.  When  the  govern- 
ment, besieged  by  philanthropists,  made  it  for  the  interest 
of  contractors  to  land  prisoners  at  their  destination,  instead  of 
dropping  them  into  the  sea,  simply  by  paying  only  for  those 
so  landed,  the  mortality  of  the  Botany  Bay  passage  was  reduced 
from  sixty  to  five  per  cent.  So  much  for  making  it  the  interest 
of  men  to  do  right,  which  is  the  real  duty  of  all  government. 

Our  prisons  at  this  time  are  said  to  be  fairly  well  managed 
and  healthy:  so  they  should  be,  since  good  health  and  good 
morals  go  hand  in  hand ;  and  every  prison  should  be  reforma- 
tory in  every  way,  —  a  school  of  all  the  virtues,  making  men 
and  women  healthier  and  better.  They  should  be  and  do  all 
this  for  many  reasons,  one  of  which  is,  that  many  innocent 
persons  are  sent  to  prison,  —  some,  because  unjustly  accused 
and  convicted;  some,  because  unfortunate  and  poor.  Thou- 
sands of  persons  are  imprisoned  for  debt.  We  supposed  such 
imprisonment  was  abolished;  but  it  appears  that  every  one  who 
cannot  obey  the  order  of  a  county  court-judge  is  considered 
guilty  of  contempt  of  court,  and  shut  up  in  prison. 

We  have  had  occasion  during  the  past  year  to  take  some 
personal  interest  in  one  of  her  Majesty's  prisons,  the  one  in 
Tothill  Fields,  between  Victoria  Station  and  Westminster 
Abbey  and  the  Houses  of  Parliament.  This  is  a  very  large 
prison,  entirely  devoted  to  women,  placed  under  the  charge  of 


APPENDIX   V.  461 

a  lady  superintendent  and  female  warders.  At  the  gate  are 
two  male  porters  and  a  clerk:  but,  save  when  policemen  are 

called  in  to  quell  disturbances  which  the  robust  and  resolute 
female  warders  are  not  able  to  manage,  the  only  men  inside 
are  the  two  chaplains  (Protestant  and  Catholic)  and  the  phy- 
sician. Since  there  are  now  many  regularly  educated,  di- 
ploma-ed,  and  registered  female  physicians,  why  are  they  not 
appointed  to  female  prisons  ? 

In  this  prison  are  confined  an  average  of  five  or  six  hundred 
women,  nine-tenths  on  short  sentences  for  drunkenness,  dis- 
orderly conduct,  and  petty  thefts.  The  prison-vans  bring 
them,  fifty  or  sixty  a  day,  from  all  the  police-courts  of  the 
metropolis,  as  well  as  from  the  criminal  courts  and  sessions. 
So  many  come  in  every  day:  so  many  are  discharged,  mostly  to 
come  again.  What  a  work  for  the  chaplains!  "What  a  work 
for  reformers ! 

On  the  arrival  of  the  prisoners,  —  numbering  at  times  fifty 
or  sixty  a  day,  of  all  characters,  and  in  every  imaginable  de- 
gree of  filth  and  disease,  —  all  are  compelled  to  wash  in  the 
same  water  !  The  delicate  lady,  accustomed  to  her  daily  ablu- 
tion, and  the  drunken  and  diseased  street-walker,  must  enter 
the  same  bath.  Does  her  gracious  Majesty  know  of  this  utter- 
ly abominable  regulation  ? 

After  this  beautiful  introduction  to  prison  sanitation,  each 
prisoner  is  allowed  three  quarts  of  water  a  day  for  all  purposes, 
and,  once  a  week,  an  ounce  of  very  nasty  yellow  soap,  —  all  her 
Majesty's  government  can  afford. 

A  clean  chemise  and  towel  are  allowed  once  a  week  —  clean 
by  courtesy;  for  as  the  hundreds  of  pieces  are  mixed  together, 
and  passed  through  the  prison  laundry,  there  is  a  distribution 
of  filth  rather  than  an  achievement  of  cleanliness.  Each  pris- 
oner in  the  laundry  is  expected  to  wash  sixty  chemises  a  day. 


462  appendix  y. 

Sheets,  summer  clothing,  and  stockings  are  washed  once  a 
month  in  the  same  fashion,  and  distributed  hap-hazard.  "Wool- 
len clothing  is  worn  from  October  to  May  without  washing. 

Blankets  are  never  washed  the  year  round,  and  are  neces- 
sarily filled  with  filth  and  fleas,  with  the  chance  of  worse 
abominations.  Prisoners  inherit  the  blankets  of  their  prede- 
cessors, with  all  the  filth  and  vermin  they  leave  behind  them. 
The  lowest  dregs  of  the  slums  of  Westminster,  Seven  Dials, 
Drury  Lane,  etc.,  settle  here. 

The  sanitary  condition  is  made  worse  by  lack  of  light.  Half 
the  cells  are  too  dark  to  read  in:  all  are  badly  ventilated,  close, 
and  suffocating  in  summer.  The  prisoners  are  kept  in  these 
cells  day  and  night,  except  one  hour  a  day  for  exercise  and 
chapel.  The  necessary  vessels  in  the  cells  become  very  offen- 
sive. The  food  of  the  prisoners  is  brought  into,  and  must  be 
eaten  in,  these  close  and  nasty  cells. 

There  is  one  water-closet  for  fifty-five  women,  — the  average 
number  in  each  section  of  the  prison,  —  in  which  they  must  all 
empty  their  slops.  When  the  small-pox  was  in  the  prison,  din- 
ing the  recent  epidemic,  one  of  these  got  choked,  and  the  yard 
was  flooded  with  sewage  for  four  days. 

There  is  no  classification.  The  most  refined  ladies,  rightly  or 
wrongly  convicted  of  some  misdemeanor,  are  mixed  with  the 
most  horrible  drunken  prostitutes  and  female  roughs  and  ruf- 
fians, who  get  the  best  treatment,  because  the  officers  dare  not 
offend  them.  The  silent  system  is  carried  out  as  well,  perhaps, 
as  it  can  be  among  five  hundred  women,  who  cannot  be  pre- 
vented from  shouting  to  each  other  at  night,  and  relating  their 
not  always  edifying  adventures. 

The  usual  work  is  picking  oakum;  hut  a  certain  number  are 
told  off  to  sort  the  paper  brought  by  scavengers  from  dust-holes 
and  gutters,  filling  the  prison  with  dust,  stench,  fleas,  and 


APPENDIX  V.  463 

other  vermin,  and  who  can  say  what  germs  of  disease  ?  The 
prisoners  condemned  to  this  filthy  labor,  covered  thickly  with 
dirt,  have  no  change  of  clothing,  and  daily  mingle  with  the 
others  in  chapel,  so  that  all  this  filth  may  be  fairly  dis- 
tributed. 

The  walls  of  the  cells  are  whitewashed  twice  a  year;  this 
is  well:  but  in  the  sick-cells  the  beds  arc  never  changed  or 
cleansed. 

The  diet  of  prisons,  though  considered  by  many  as  too 
meagre,  seems  fairly  sufficient  for  the  average.  A  pint  of  gruel 
is  served  morning  and  night,  and  three  four-ounce  loaves  of 
bread  a  day.  For  dinner,  a  pint  of  soup,  three  potatoes, 
bread,  and  suet-pudding.  The  beans  are  not  well  cooked  (they 
are  seldom  cooked  enough  anywhere),  and  the  bacon  is  very 
offensive.  On  one  day  in  the  week,  Friday,  each  prisoner  gets 
six  ounces  of  Australian  meat. 

There  are  diet-papers  in  all  the  cells,  showing  what  should 
be  given  according  to  the  government  regulations;  but  this  diet 
is  never  furnished,  has  not  been  in  the  memory  of  the  oldest 
inhabitant. 

The  diet  actually  provided  does  not  suit  all  stomachs.  One 
poor  old  woman  who  could  not  digest  it  took  to  her  bed, 
turned  her  face  to  the  wall,  and  resolutely  starved  to  death, 
and  so  got  out  of  it. 

This  is  the  account,  intelligent  and  accurate  we  have  no 
doubt,  which  we  get  from  a  lady  who  has  had  a  year's  observa- 
tion and  experience  of  this  prison.  She  makes  no  complaint 
of  personal  ill  treatment,  but  only  of  the  conditions  of  onclean- 
liness  and  unhealthfulness  from  which  all  must  alike  suffer. 
She  was  treated  by  every  one,  as  was  natural,  with  tin;  con- 
sideration due  to  her  position  and  character,  and  with  all  the 
favor  the  regulations  would  allow.     As  kindness  is  the  habit  of 


4G4  APPENDIX   V. 

her  life,  and  it  was  misplaced  kindness  that  gave  her  this  expe- 
rience, she  had  some  opportunities  of  doing  good  to  those 
around  her,  and  was  rewarded,  as  we  know,  with  the  tenderest 
love  of  those  who  had  the  best  opportunities  of  knowing 
her. 

Prisons,  you  may  say,  are  for  punishment.  Yes:  but  are 
filth  and  darkness,  foul  air  and  diseasing  conditions,  lice  and 
fleas,  proper  punishments  or  reforming  influences  ?  They 
harden  and  debase.  And  what  of  the  innocent  —  the  victims 
of  our  constant  "failures  of  justice"  ?  What  of  the  consid- 
erable number,  who,  as  one  of  the  chaplains  of  this  prison  as- 
sured us,  are  rather  unfortunate  than  criminal,  and  really  free 
from  moral  guilt  ?  What  of  the  thousands  of  prisoners  for 
debt,  who  for  their  misfortunes  are  subjected  to  all  the  de- 
moralizing influences  of  prison-life  ?  Do  we  not  need  another 
Howard,  and  another  Mrs.  Fry,  to  preach  another  prison  cru- 
sade, and  carry  out  another  prison-reformation  ? 

We  shall  send  this  paper  to  her  Majesty's  home  secretary. 
Possibly  one  of  his  subordinates  may  read  it.  We  cannot  ex- 
pect that  it  will  catch  the  eye  of  a  much  bothered  and  over- 
tasked prime-minister.  We  may,  perhaps,  hope  for  a  few 
moments'  attention  from  two  or  three  members  of  Parliament; 
and  we  ask  our  many  thoughtful  and  philanthropic  readers, 
and  especially  kind-hearted,  generous  women,  whether  some- 
thing better  cannot  be  done  for  five  or  six  hundred  female 
prisoners — several  thousands  every  year — than  such  abomi- 
nably vile  and  unhealthy  conditions  as  wre  have  felt  obliged 
to  notice.  Other  prisons  may  be  as  bad  or  worse.  It  is  certain 
that  in  this  one  there  is  need  of  reformation.  —  The  Herald  of 
Health,  May,  1882. 


APPENDIX  V.  4G5 

In  the  June  number  of  his  periodical,  Dr.  Nichols  had 
occasion  to  return  to  the  subject,  in  an  article  on  unsanitary 
prisons. 

Our  article  on  the  condition  of  the  great  prison  for  women 
in  Tothill  Fields,  Westminster,  in  the  May  number  of  the 
''Herald  of  Health,"  may  do  some  good.  It  has  already  had 
the  advantage^  of  a  parliamentary  notice.  The  "Times"  of 
May  3  contained  the  following:  — 

Tothili.-Fields  Prison.  — Mr.  Broadhurst  asked  the  secretary  of  state 
for  the  home  departmant  whether  his  attention  had  been  called  to  an  article 
in  the  May  number  of  the  "Herald  of  Health,"  giving  a  description  of  the 
condition  of  prison-life  in  the  TothillFields  Prison  for  Women,  in  which 
very  grave  charges  were  made  as  to  the  insufficiency  of  clean  linen,  both 
in  respect  to  wearing-apparel  and  bedding,  also  to  the  bad  light  and  bad  ven- 
tilation of  the  cells,  and  to  the  want  of  more  sanitary  conveniences,  and  to 
the  occasional  bad  condition  of  those  at  present  provided ;  and  whether  he 
would  cause  inquiries  to  be  made  into  the  truth,  or  otherwise,  of  the  charges 
in  question;  and,  if  they  were  found  to  be  true,  whether  he  would  order  the 
prison-authorities  to  make  better  arrangements  for  the  cleanliness  of  the 
inmates  of  that  prison. 

Sir  W.  Harcourt  said  he  had  caused  inquiries  to  be  made  into  the  case, 
and  the  reports  of  the  medical  officer  and  the  lady-superintendent  satisfied 
him  that  the  charges  were  not  well  founded. 

This  is  precisely  the  usual  proceeding.  When  abuses  are 
pointed  out  in  any  department  of  government,  the  chief  in- 
quires of  his  subordinates,  and  they  never  fail  to  satisfy  him 
that  the  charges  are  not  well  founded.  That  is  what  they  are 
for.  We  repeat  the  charges  we  brought,  not  against  the  officers 
of  the  prison,  but  against  its  construction  and  regulations. 
We  are  ready  to  prove  that  it  is  a  place,  not  of  healthy  and  moral 
restraint  and  reformation,  but  of  unhealthy,  demoralizing  tor- 
ture.    Give  us  the  opportunity,  and  we  will  prove  every  item 


466  APPENDIX  V. 

and  more.  Probably  this  is  not  the  only  defective  and  unsani- 
tary prison.  Coroner's  inquests  are  far  too  frequent  in  the  Cold- 
bath-Fields  Prison,  which  is  for  men  what  the  Tothill-Fields 
Prison  is  for  women.  Since  our  article  was  written,  an  inquest 
has  been  held  there  on  the  body  of  Edward  Woodhouse,  aged 
twenty,  a  printer.  The  father  of  the  deceased,  while  exon- 
erating the  warders,  said  that  he  believed  his  son  had  been 
virtually  murdered  by  the  cruel  system  under  wftich  the  ward- 
ers were  compelled  to  act.  The  coroner,  observing  that  such 
a  charge  was  a  very  heavy  one  against  any  public  institution, 
offered  to  order  a  post-mortem  examination  if  the  father  wished 
it.  The  father  left  this  in  the  hands  of  the  coroner.  The 
jury,  after  a  private  deliberation,  expressed  a  wish  to  view  the 
cell  in  which  the  prisoner  had  been  confined.  After  the  inspec- 
tion they  returned  a  verdict  of  "Death  from  inflammation  of 
the  lungs,  of  a  very  acute  and  sharp  nature."  Woodhouse,  who 
was  sentenced  to  four  months'  imprisonment  for  an  assault, 
was  said  by  his  father  to  be  "a  strong,  healthy  young  man " 
when  he  was  sent  to  prison. 

Let  us  look  at  the  facts.  The  hundreds  of  women  in  the 
Tothill-Fields  Prison  are  locked  up  singly  in  cold,  damp  cells, 
many  of  which  —  about  one-half — are  too  dark  to  read  in,  for 
twenty-three  hours  out  of  every  twenty-four.  These  tombs 
are  badly  ventilated,  with  uncovered  vessels,  and  in  winter 
cruelly  cold ;  while  the  inmates,  wearing  out  month  after  month 
in  this  dreary  solitude,  are  thinly  clothed,  sleep  on  hammocks 
which  give  almost  no  protection,  with  only  two  blankets  in 
winter,  and  one  in  summer,  washed  once  a  year,  and  meantime, 
with  all  they  gather,  the  inheritance  of  each  successive  pris- 
oner, and  of  those  moved  from  one  cell  to  another. 

The  passages  or  corridors  of  the  prison  are  warmed,  and 
made  comfortable  for  the  warders.     Some   of  this  warm  air 


APPENDIX   V.  467 

filters  into  the  cells,  and  its  moisture  condenses  on  the  Malls, 
and  runs  down  upon  the  cold  stone  floor.  Here  the  poor 
women  eat  their  hearts  out  for  twenty-three  hours  of  every 
day  with  fleas   and  rats,  and  perhaps  the  germs  of  fatal  dis- 


We  are  glad  to  learn,  that,  since  our  article  was  published, 
drains  have  been  inspected,  and  some  cleansing  and  white- 
washing done.  Bo  far  so  good ;  but  that  will  not  give  air,  light, 
and  the  conditions  of  health,  which  are  the  rights  of  every 
human  being.  We  agree  that  a  prison  is  for  restraint  and  for 
salutary  punishment:  above  all,  it  should  be  for  reform.  It 
is  right  that  prisoners  should  be  deprived  of  mere  luxuries  and 
sensual  indulgences.  But  cold,  darkness,  bad  or  insufficient 
food,  filth,  and  the  dreary  monotony  of  silent,  solitary  confine- 
ment in  living  tombs,  can  only  demoralize,  and  shorten  life. 

Some  years  ago  this  system  was  vigorously  denounced  in 
"The  Weekly  Dispatch."  It  was  asserted  that  no  prisoner 
could  endure  more  than  two  years  of  such  confinement,  and 
that  it  was  far  worse  than  penal  servitude.  It  is  made  bad,  and 
kept  so,  to  prevent  crime.  Is  it  deterrent  ?  If  it  were,  would 
the  same  prisoners  come  up  twenty  times,  a  hundred  times, 
in  one  case  two  hundred  and  forty  times,  over  for  sentence  ? 
As  the  gallows  does  not  prevent  murder,  and  did  not  prevent 
theft  when  men,  women,  and  children  were  hanged  for  stealing 
a  few  shillings,  so  no  amount  of  cruelty  of  punishment  deters 
from  crime. 

There  is  another  difficulty  ahout  this  prison.  It  is  not  only 
not  reformatory,  not  educational  in  any  way,  beyond  the  influ- 
ence which  may  be  exercised  by  the  two  chaplains,  but  there 
are  demoralizing  influences.  Abandoned  women  find  means 
of  communicating  with  young  girls,  and  offer  them  induce 
ments  to  become  inmates  of  houses  of  ill-fame  when  they  leave 


468  APPENDIX  V. 

the  prison.  Possibly  they  manage  to  get  sentenced  a  month 
for  no  other  purpose.  They  gather  round  the  gates,  and  offer 
hospitalities  to  those  whose  terms  have  expired.  There  are 
other  things  we  cannot  go  into.  The  prisoners  are  completely 
in  the  power  of  the  warders;  and  "  who  is  there  to  watch  the 
shepherds" — or  the  shepherdesses?  A  warder  may  be  as 
drunken  and  depraved  as  any  prisoner. 

We  have  made  no  charges  against  the  officers  of  the  prison. 
No  doubt  the  lady-superintendent,  the  physician,  and  the  chap- 
lains do  their  best  under  the  system  and  regulations  which 
define  and  limit  their  duties.  It  is  the  system  and  the  regula- 
tions, and  the  very  structure  and  arrangements  of  the  prison, 
and  of  prisons  generally^  of  which  we  complain.  Our  inform- 
ant, who  has  simply  given  us  her  own  experience  and  observa- 
tions, had  no  motive  but  that  of  pity  for  suffering,  and  a  desire 
to  benefit  her  fellow-sufferers.  She  had  no  complaint  of  a  per- 
sonal character  to  make.  From  the  moment  of  her  arrest  to 
the  termination  of  her  sentence,  she  was  treated  with  the 
greatest  possible  kindness  and  consideration  that  conditions 
and  regulations  would  admit  of.  A  failure  of  justice  may  have 
the  effect  of  bringing  about  much  needed  reforms.  Two  thou- 
sand years  ago  it  was  a  work  of  charity  to  visit  prisoners.  A 
hundred  years  ago  Mrs.  Fry  was  allowed  to  preach  to  the 
female  prisoners  in  Newgate.  Under  our  present  regulations 
the  words  "  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me"  have  lost 
their  meaning. 

A  prison  should  be  in  every  way  a  school  of  healthful, 
orderly,  industrious  life.  It  should  be  full  of  inducements  to 
good  conduct,  and  free  from  temptations  to  evil.  A  prison 
should  not  lower  health,  or  shorten  life ;  and  it  should  be  a 
training-school  for  every  inmate.  Every  prisoner  should  be 
able  to  pay  the  cost  of  his  imprisonment.    Some  American 


*  APPENDIX  V.  469 

prisons  bring  a  net  profit  to  the  State.  We  think  the  State 
might  well  divide  the  profits  of  labor  with  the  prisoners.  There 
should  be  every  encouragement  to  work,  and  none  to  idle  and 
shirk. 

And  no  short  sentences  after  the  first.  The  third  should  be 
for  life,  or  "  during  her  Majesty's  pleasure."  What  a  wretched 
farce  it  is  for  our  magistrates  to  sentence  a  woman  a  hundred 
times  !  A  year  is  the  shortest  time  to  cure  the  habit  of  drink. 
If  it  recur,  either  the  patient  should  be  kept  out  of  the  way  of 
drink,  or  the  drink,  by  local  option  or  otherwise,  out  of  the  way 
of  the  patient. 

Yes,  "  the  patient."    A  great  poet  has  said,  — 

"  All  crime  is  madness :  madness  is  disease." 

Then  every  prison  should  be  a  hospital  to  cure  it.  And  a  hos- 
pital should  have  light,  warmth,  pure  food,  pure  water,  all  the 
conditions  of  health,  and  all  possible  incitements  to  industry 
and  virtue. 

First  a  hospital,  and  then  a  school,  —  a  school  of  life. 

Can  all  criminals  be  cured  of  crime  ?  Certainly  not.  Crime 
is  almost  always  hereditary  and  constitutional,  and  it  is  some- 
times incurable.  There  are  hospitals  for  incurables.  Men  are 
bom  liars  and  born  thieves,  and  all  such  should  be  humanely 
taken  care  of.  But  the  majority  can  be  cured  by  the  adoption 
of  a  reasonable  and  scientific  system  of  education  and  dis- 
cipline. 

We  thank  Mr.  Broadhurst  for  his  question  to  the  home 
secretary,  and  we  are  sorry  that  Sir  William  Ilarcourt  could 
not  give  a  more  satisfactory  answer.  He  has  too  much  to  do. 
There  should  be  a  special  minister  of  justice  responsible  for 
the  treatment,  health,  education,  and  reformation  of  prisoners. 

And  we  beg  our  readers  not  to  imagine  that  we  write  from 
Utopia,  or  of  any  thing  impossible.  There  has  been  in  France 
for  half  a  century  a  prison  so  educational,  so  truly  reformatory, 


470  APPENDIX    V. 

that  the  fact  of  any  one  having  been  trained  in  it  is  a  letter  of 
recommendation.  A  man  who  wants  a  situation  of  trust  can- 
not give  a  better  reference  than  to  say  he  is  an  enfant  de  Met- 
tray.  There  is  a  similar-training  school  for  young  convicts  in 
Belgium.  We  do  not  pretend  that  the  old  are  as  easily  trained 
as  the  young;  but  we  do  know  that  men  and  women  at  all 
ages  may  "  cease  to  do  evil,  and  learn  to  do  well,"  and  that  the 
best  work  in  this  world  is  to  help  all  who  need  our  help  to  live 
honest  and  useful  lives.  We  must  despair  of  none,  and  give 
real  help  to  all  who  need  it.  As  a  hospital  should  be  the  best 
possible  place  to  cure  disease,  a  prison  should  be  the  best  pos- 
sible place  to  reform  the  immoral  and  the  criminal.  —  Herald 
of  Health,  June,  1882. 

Mr.  Dillon,  M.P.,  complained  bitterly  in  the  House  of 
Commons  that  he  had  been  locked  up  in  his  cell  twenty-two 
hours  out  of  twenty-four,  which  he  thought  enough  to  destroy 
the  health  of  any  one.  We  poor  women  at  Tothill  Fields 
were  locked  up  an  hour  longer. 

With  Dr.  Nichols,  I  see  no  reason  why  every  prison  should 
not  be  a  school  of  life  for  culture,  training,  and  improvement 
in  bodily  health  and  intelligence  and  morality.  Writh  a 
proper  classification  of  prisoners,  all  could  be  taught,  and  all 
could  be  more  or  less  improved.  If  there  are  any  so  de- 
mented or  depraved  as  to  be  hopeless,  what  is  wanted  for 
such  is  something  like  an  insane-asylum,  or  hospital  for  in- 
curables, where  they  could  be  humanely  treated,  and  made 
to  pay  by  their  industry  the  cost  of  their  living.  It  seems 
to  me  to  be  an  awful  farce  for  London  magistrates,  and 
magistrates  in  all  the  towns  of  England,  to  send  men  and 
women  scores  and  hundreds  of  times  to  prison,  to  come  out 
each  time  more  hardened  and  more  degraded. 


APPENDIX   VI. 

MEMORIAL  OF  DR.  NICHOLS  TO  THE  HOME  SEC- 
RETARY, ASKING  FOR  THE  RELEASE  OF  MRS. 
FLETCHER. 

The  Memorial  of  Thomas  Low  Nichols,  M.D.,  of  32  Fopstone 
Boad,  South  Kensington,  London,  S.  W.,  in  behalf  of  Mrs. 
Susan  Willis  Fletcher,  a  prisoner. 

To  the  Right  Honorable  Sir  William  Harcourt,  Bart.,  M.P., 
her  Majesty's  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department. 
Sir,  — I  am  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  America,  by 
profession  a  "physician,  author,  and  journalist,  for  twenty  years 
resident  in  England.  In  the  exercise  of  what  I  presume  to  be 
my  right,  and  what  I  feel  to  be  my  duty,  I  make  this  appeal  in 
behalf  of  my  countrywoman  and  dear  friend  now  confined  a 
prisoner,  violently  parted  from  her  husband,  parents,  child, 
and  many  friends,  because  unjustly,  and,  I  think,  also  unlaw- 
fully, convicted. 

Your  prisoner,  Mrs.  Susan  Willis  Fletcher,  came  to  Eng- 
land with  her  husband,  Mr.  John  William  Fletcher,  both  re- 
spectable citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America,  about  the 
year  1877,  to  follow  their  recognized  and  lawful  calling  of  spir- 
itual mediums  and  trance-speakers  for  a  large  and  Intelligent 
body  of  the  people  of  America,  England,  and  other  countries, 
calling  themselves  Spiritualists.     In  America  these  Spiritual- 

471 


472  APPENDIX  VI. 

ists,  a  growing  body  for  more  than  thirty  years,  have  been 
estimated  to  number  several  millions,  having  numerous  socie- 
ties, great  lecture-halls,  licensed  speakers  and  mediums,  and 
several  newspapers,  one  of  which  is  said  to  have  a  circulation 
cf  a  hundred  thousand  copies  weekly.  In  Great  Britain  there 
are  also  many  Spiritualist  societies,  several  in  London,  and  one 
or  more  in  most  of  the  provincial  towns,  with  four  weekly 
newspapers,  a  monthly  review,  and  many  registered  halls  or 
chapels,  speakers,  and  mediums. 

In  1878  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  established  themselves  as 
spiritual  mediums  at  22  Gordon  Street,  Gordon  Square,  Lon- 
don; aud  Mr.  Fletcher  held  religious  services,  and  gave  ad- 
dresses on  Spiritualism  on  Sunday  evenings,  at  Steinway  Hall 
in  Lower  Seymour  Street,  Portman  Square,  which  were  at- 
tended by  a  large  and  fashionable  congregation. 

Belief  in  Spiritualism,  or  the  existence  of  the  spirits  of  men 
and  women  who  have  lived  in  this  world,  and  their  power,  at 
times  and  under  favoring  conditions,  to  communicate  with 
the  living,  has  been  and  is,  I  need  scarcely  remind  so  accom- 
plished a  student  of  history,  common  to  nearly  the  whole 
human  race.  It  was  and  is  the  basis  of  the  religions  of  Egypt, 
Greece,  Rome,  India,  China,  and  is  the  faith  alike  of  Jews, 
Christians,  Mohammedans,  Buddhists,  and  Brahmins. 

The  manifestations  of  the  presence  and  power  of  spirits  of 
departed  men  and  women,  which  have  become  common  in 
America,  Europe,  and  over  the  world,  during  the  past  thirty 
years,  have  been  witnessed  by  many  thousands  of  intelligent 
observers,  and  been  carefully  examined  and  rigidly  tested  by 
many  scientific  men,  as  Professor  Hare,  Professor  Mapes, 
Judge  Edmunds,  Professor  Denton,  Mr.  Epes  Sargent,  and 
others  in  America,  by  Mr.  William  Howitt,  Dr.  Robert  Cham- 
bers, Professor  De    Morgan,   Mr.   S.   C.   Hall,    Mr.  William 


APPENDIX  VI.  473 

Crookes,  F.E.S.,  Mr.  Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  F.R.G.S.,  the 
late  and  present  Earls  of  Dunraven,  the  Earl  of  Crawford,  and 
many  more  in  England,  and  lately  and  notably  by  Professor 
Zollner  of  the  University  of  Leipzig,  an  astronomer  of  world- 
wide reputation,  who,  with  his  fellow-professors,  most  care- 
fully examined  and  tested  the  manifestations  made  in  pres- 
ence of  two  celebrated  mediums,  — Henry  Slade  (American) 
and  William  Eglinton  (Englishman^  with  both  of  whom  I  am 
well  acquainted,  as  I  have  also  been  with  many  mediums  dur- 
ing twenty-five  years  of  careful  examination  of  the  phenomena 
of  Spiritualism. 

I  assert,  and  am  ready  to  prove  by  hundreds  of  unimpeacha- 
ble witnesses  and  by  experimental  demonstration,  the  fact 
and  truth,  or  objective  reality,  of  Spiritualism.  There  is  no 
need  to  prove  the  strong  and  violent  prejudice  against  it. 
Materialists  and  religionists,  from  different  motives,  deny  its 
facts,  and  refuse  investigation.  On  the  trial  of  Mrs.  Fletcher 
all  testimony  to  prove  its  reality  was  excluded  by  the  presiding 
judge,  while  the  jury  was  asked  by  the  government  prosecutor 
to  crush  Spiritualism  as  a  pestilent  heresy;  so  that  religious 
persecution  became  the  animus  of  the  trial,  and  motive  of  the 
verdict. 

Under  these  circumstances,  you,  as  a  liberal  and  enlightened 
minister  of  the  crown,  standing  in  the  place  of  her  gracious 
Majesty,  to  whose  clemency  and  justice  I  am  making  this 
appeal,  will  pardon  me  if  I  give  a  brief  yet  faithful  history  of 
this  prosecution  of  Mrs.  Fletcher,  under  the  direction  of  a 
department  of  the  government  of  which  you  are  the  responsi- 
ble minister. 

[The  history  of  the  case  is  omitted,  because  it  has  been  more 
fully  given  elsewhere.  After  a  brief  recital  cf  the  facts,  the 
memorial  says], — 


474  APPENDIX  VI. 

Had  the  Fletchers  been  Methodists,  Baptists,  or  Plymouth 
Brethren,  the  matter  in  dispute  would  have  been  settled  in  a 
court  of  equity.  The  property  formally  given  to  the  Fletchers 
had  been  in  great  part  restored.  No  injury  had  been  inflicted. 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  really  indebted  to  the  Fletchers.  Noth- 
ing had  been  converted  or  concealed.  When  the  Fletchers 
went  to  America,  they  took  their  friend,  as  well  as  a  portion 
of  the  property,  with  them.  Mrs.  Fletcher  had  come  from 
America  expressly  and  solely  to  meet  the  charge  of  fraud 
against  her,  expecting  a  fair  trial,  and  not  doubting  that  she 
would  have  a  triumphant  acquittal. 

After  hearing  all  the  evidence  offered  on  one  side,  and 
declining  to  hear  any  on  the  other,  the  Bow-street  magistrate 
committed  Mrs.  Fletcher  for  trial  at  the  Central  Criminal 
Court.  The  grand  jury  did  not  hesitate  to  find  a  "  true  bill." 
It  appears  to  be  as  easy  in  our  day  to  indict  and  convict  and 
imprison  a  Spiritualist,  as  it  was  some  time  ago  to  burn  a  here- 
tic, or  hang  a  witch,  or  whip  or  imprison  a  Quaker.  It  being 
a  government  prosecution,  the  various  counts  of  this  wonder- 
ful indictment  were  spread  over  sixty  skins  of  parchment,  so 
that  the  unrolling  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  before  the 
eyes  of  an  Old  Bailey  jury  might  have  gone  far  in  itself  to 
secure  a  conviction. 

Practically,  as  the  presiding  judge,  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins, 
told  the  jury,  the  whole  case  rested  upon  the  testimony  of  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies.  There  was  not  offered  one  word  of  evidence, 
either  of  the  non-existence  of  the  spirit  of  Mrs.  Heurtley,  or 
that  she  could  not  communicate  with  her  daughter,  or  that 
she  did  not  actually  make  such  communications  through  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Fletcher.  The  only  false  pretences  alleged  were 
these  communications,  and  no  evidence  was  given  of  their 
falsity.    It  is  believed  with  religious  faith,  or  recognized  as  a 


APPENDIX  VI.  475 

scientific  fact,  by  millions,  that  spirits  exist,  and  that  they  can 
communicate  with  mortals,  and  do  so  communicate.  There 
was  no  evidence  to  show  that  Mrs.  Fletcher  did  not  believe  in 
such  communications,  or  that  they  might  not,  or  did  not,  come 
to  or  through  her,  or  that  she  had  not  acted  in  simple  good 
faith.  Her  coming  to  meet  her  trial,  and  her  remaining  on 
bail  to  the  end,  when  she  saw  that  the  trial  was  utterly  unfair, 
that  all  her  witnesses  were  shut  out,  and  that  the  Court,  and 
probably  the  jury,  were  against  her,  are  strong  proofs  of  her 
sincerity. 

A  hundred  witnesses  could  have  been  called  to  prove  the 
reality  of  spiritual  manifestations,  among  them  men  of  the 
highest  rank  and  position;  but  the  Court  ruled  that  no  amount 
of  such  testimony  would  be  of  any  avail.  Surely  this  was 
wrong.  Surely  it  was  important  to  show  that  the  pretences 
charged  as  false  might  be  true,  or  at  least  that  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
like  thousands  of  others,  might  honestly  believe  in  such  com- 
munications. 

[" Well  knowing  them  to  be  false"  is  the  phrase  repeated 
throughout  the  indictment;  yet  this  knowledge  was  assumed, 
and  in  no  case  proven.  Spiritualism  is  false;  she  must  know 
it  to  be  false:  therefore  she  is  guilty.  Two  centuries  ago  it 
was,  witchcraft  is  wicked;  she  is  a  witch,  well  knowing  it  to 
be  wicked:  let  her  be  hanged  or  burned  accordingly.  Under 
judges  like  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  hundreds  of  poor  women  suf- 
fered horrible  deaths  for  witchcraft.  Ought  I  to  complain  of 
a  year's  imprisonment  under  the  equally  enlightened  sentence 
of  Sir  Henry  Hawkins  ?] 

The  jury  was  exhorted  by  the  government  prosecutor  to 
"crush  a  pestilent  heresy,"  or,  as  otherwise  reported,  to  "give 
a  death-blow  to  a  great  danger." 


476  APPENDIX  VI. 

At  the  close  of  the  trial,  if  that  can  be  called  a  trial  in 
which  only  one  side  is  heard,  the  presiding  judge  occupied  five 
hours  in  his  charge  to  the  jury.  I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to 
a  few  sentences  in  this  charge.    His  lordship  said,  — 

"  Great  excitement  had  been  manifested  during  the  case  by  persons  who 
had  come  forward  to  give  the  prisoner  a  character  for  honesty  and  integrity, 
and  to  say  that  she  and  her  husband  were  enthusiastic  believers  in  Spiritu- 
alism and  in  the  doctrine  of  communion  with  departed  spirits.  Xow,  he 
must  take  leave  to  say,  that  it  was  absolutely  immaterial  to  the  issue  they 
were  trying,  whether  or  not  there  might  be  in  this  world  several  millions 
of  persons  devoutly  believing  that  communion  might  be  had  with  departed 
spirits." 

I  was  present  in  court  during  the  whole  trial,  and  I  saw 
no  evidence  or  manifestation  of  such  excitement;  also  I  think 
the  fact  that  millions  of  persons  devoutly  believe  in  communion 
with  departed  spirits  renders  it  not  improbable  that  the  Fletch- 
ers held  that  belief. 

His  lordship  said,  — 

"  Of  course  the  whole  of  this  case  depends  upon  whether  you  believe  the 
evidence  of  the  prosecutrix,  or  not.  If  you  do  not,  the  whole  fabric  of 
the  case  comes  down." 

Yet  he  resolutely  and  persistently  excluded  testimony  affect- 
ing the  character,  and  therefore  the  credibility,  of  this  wit- 
ness; apparently  agreeing  with  the  Bow-street  magistrate,  that, 
though  she  had  led  "the  life  of  a  demon,"  she  might  be 
believed  when  she  charged  another  person  with  fraud. 

"  It  was  given  in  evidence  by  Mrs.  Hart-Davies,  that  there  was  an  honora- 
ble understanding  that  the  goods  should  be  returned  when  required." 

The  goods  had  been  so  returned :  then,  why  these  criminal 
proceedings  ? 


appendix  vr.  477 

I  am  quite  aware  that  the  entire  press,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, approved  the  verdict.  The  "leaders"  of  the  London 
journals,  daily  and  weekly,  were  echoes  of  the  charge  and  the 
sentence;  but  I  am  too  old  a  journalist  not  to  know  what  such 
clamor  is  worth.  It  was  simply  an  embodiment  of  an  ignorant 
and  prejudiced  public  opinion,  taking  the  place  of  the  pillory, 
to  which  good  and  bad  men  were  subjected  in  a  ruder  age, 
when  the  populace  threw  their  own  dirt,  because  they  had  no 
M  leader  "  writers  paid  to  do  it  for  them. 

I  give  you  my  opinions  freely;  because  I  think  you  wish  to 
know  how  intelligent  and  fair-minded  men  look  upon  such  a 
failure  of  justice,  and  triumph  of  prejudice,  as  this  trial  and 
its  result. 

But  the  charge  to  the  jury  and  the  sentence  were  as  re- 
markable for  what  they  omitted  as  for  what  they  asserted. 
Just  and  humane  judges  are  eager  to  place  before  a  jury  any 
evidence  or  circumstance  which  may  tell  in  favor  of  a  person 
accused  of  crime.  In  this  case,  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Fletcher 
came  across  the  Atlantic  in  midwinter,  solely  to  meet  this 
accusation;  the  fact,  that,  during  four  months  at  Bow  Street 
and  the  Old  Bailey,  she  had  regularly  surrendered  to  her  bail, 
when  she  might  have  kept  away,  or  taken  her  departure,  —  were 
not  so  much  as  hinted  at.  The  fact,  that  no  article  of  the 
property  had  been  sold,  secreted,  or  made  away  with;  that  Mrs. 
Hart-Davies,  with  a  portion  of  it,  was  taken  with  the  Fletchers 
to  America;  that  the  remainder  was  left  where  she  herself  had 
placed  it,  —  these  most  important  facts  were  left  unmentioned, 
as  if  they  had  not  existed. 

I  appeal  to  you,  right  honorable  sir,  as  to  the  one  man  to 
whom  the  administration  of  justice,  and  also  of  the  royal 
clemency,  in  these  realms,  is  confided ;  to  the  one  whose  func- 
tions are,  to  a  vast  number,  the  most  important  of  those  of  any 


478  APPENDIX   VI. 

of  her  Majesty's  ministers,  —  whether  I  have  not  shown  reason 
why  this  case  should  be  reviewed  in  the  only  tribunal  before 
which  it  can  be  brought ;  and  I  respectfully  ask  you  to  con- 
sider some  of  the  evidence  which  ought  to  have  been  given  at 
the  trial. 

But,  besides  the  grave  doubts  that  every  one  must  feel  as  to 
the  motives  and  evidence  of  the  prosecutrix,  there  remains  the 
fact  that  there  was  no  proof  of  fraud  or  false  pretences.  It 
was  a  matter  of  inference  or  opinion.  There  was  no  proof 
given  that  one  word  spoken  or  written  by  Mrs.  Fletcher  to 
Mrs.  Hart-Davies  was  untrue.  The  charge  of  the  judge  and 
the  verdict  of  the  jury  were  based  upon  preconceived  opinions. 
Mrs.  Fletcher,  perfectly  innocent,  as  I  and  thousands  more 
believe  her  to  be,  upon  this  mere  opinion,  based  upon  no  actual 
proof,  might  have  been  sentenced  to  penal  servitude.  Some 
years  ago  she  might  have  been  transported  or  hanged,  as  I 
much  fear  thousands  of  innocent  victims  have  been,  when 
there  were  no  home  secretaries  to  revise  the  verdicts  of  preju- 
diced juries,  and  the  sentences  of  judges  who  condemned  poor 
women  to  death  for  witchcraft  and  sorcery,  for  pretending  to 
which  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  gravely  indicted  in  a  count  which  Mr. 
Justice  Hawkins  condemned  as  bad  in  law,  and  unsupported 
by  any  evidence.  The  charge  of  false  pretences,  I  contend, 
was  equally  unsupported ;  and  conviction  without  proof  is  con- 
trary to  law. 

Submitting  what  I  have  said,  and  what  I  have  appended,  to 
your  wise,  just,  and  merciful  consideration,  I  have  the  honor 
to  remain,  with  the  highest  respect, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  LOW  NICHOLS. 

32  Fop8tone  Road,  South  Kensington,  S.W. 


LEE  AND  SHEPARD'S  NEW  BOOKS. 


LIFE  AT  <PUGET  SOUJVE 

WITH  SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL  IN 

WASHINGTON    TERRITORY,    BRITISH    COLUMBIA, 
OREGON,  AND  CALIFORNIA.     1865  -  1881. 

BY 

CAROLINE   C.    LEIGIITON. 

The  vast  inland  sea,  popularly  known  as  Puget  Sound,  ramifying  in  va- 
rious directions,  the  wide-spreading  and  majestic  forests,  the  ranges  of  snow- 
capped mountains  ou  either  side,  the  mild  and  equable  climate,  and  the 
diversified  resources  of  this  fav  red  region,  excite  the  astoni-hment  and 
admiration  of  all  beholders.  To  the  lewis  of  the  grand  and  beautiful,  on- 
marred  as  yet  by  any  human  interferenre,  and  untrnmmelled  by  theconven- 
tionalius  which  pertain  to  longer  settled  portions  pf  the  globe.it  presents  an 
endless  tb  Id  for  observation  and  enjoyment.  There  is  already  a  steady 
stream  of  emigration  to  this  new  "  land  of  promise,"  and  everything  seems 
to  indicate  for  it  a  vigorous  growth  and  development  and  a  brilliant  and 
substantial  future.    Cloth,  §1.50. 


THE  GOLDKN  TRUTH  SERIES. 

A  uniform  edition  of  unequalled  selections  from  the  best  religious 
authors.  Edited  by  Mrs.  C.  A.  Means.  Dainty  volumes,  in  gold  and  colors, 
each,  $1.25.    Comprising :  — 

GOLDEN  TRUTHS. 

"  Abounds  in  gems  of  truth  and  beautiful  suggestions.  A  boot  from 
which  the  thoughtful  will  gather  hope.'' — Baltimore  American. 

TaWTNGr     THOUGHTS. 

u  A  sweet  volume  of  selections  from  the  best  writers  for  Christian 
Instruction,  meditation,  and  comfort." — Christian  Secretary,  Hartford. 

WORDS     OF     HOPE. 

M  A  volume  of  religious  selections  designed  for  the  cheer  and  consolation 
of  sorrowing  friends.  Sympathy  for  a  friend  in  sorrow  can  be  expressed  in 
no  more  delicate  or  acceptable  manner  than  by  the  presentation  of  these 
words  of  hope."— Boston  Post. 

EUROPEAN     BREEZES. 

By  Margery  Deane.  Cloth,  gilt  top,  $1  50.  Being  chapters  of  travel 
through  Germany,  Austria,  Hungary,  and  Switzerland. 

14  It  is  just  the  story  that  a  bright,  Intelligent  woman  could  relate  to  a 
circle  of  friends,  and  is  written  in  asoappy,  off-hand  ctyle.  The  travels  of  the 
writer  were  mostly  confined  to  the  German  countries  of  Europe  and  to  an  in- 
cursion into  that  little-travelled  country  of  Ilungary.  The  last  chapter  in  the 
book  is  in  some  respects  the  best,  for  it  is  the  most  practical,  giving,  as  it 
does,  information  in  regard  to  the  expenses  of  a  Eurot  can  trip  that  many  an 
extended  traveller  has  searched  for  long  and  f  r,  in  vain."  —  Orci/o»ian. 

Sold  by  all  booksellers,  or  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 

LEE    AND    SHEPARD,    Publishers, 

Boston,  Mass. 


LEE  AND  SHEPARD'S  NEW  BOOKS. 
WH/T  SHALL  WE  DO  WITH  OUf[  DAUGHTERS? 

Superfluous  Women  and  other  Lectures.    By  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore. 

Price,  $1.25. 

"  Earnest,  sensible,  and  elevating  in  tone,  these  discourses  express  with 
sincerity  and  power  the  best  thoughts  of  the  day  regarding  the  momentous 
topics  with  which  they  deal,  and  will  1  ng  be  a  beacon  light  to  guide  the  as- 
pirations of  the  future."— Boston  Traveller. 

*'  Mrs.  Liverraore's  book  is  something  to  be  glad  of,  and  will  always 
have  an  historic  interest  as  marking  the  evolution  of  an  existing  social  ques- 
tion."— Boston   Transcript. 

TWELVE  MONTHS  IN  AN  ENGLISH  PRISON. 

By  Mrs.  S.  B.  Fletcher.  12mo.  Cloth.  $1.50. 
***This  volume  contains  a  most  thrilling  narrative  of  the  experiences  of  a 
well-known  spiritualist  in  a  situation  where  the  visible  ministrations  of  invis- 
ible forces  are  proven  by  the  testimony  of  the  jailers  themselves.  Its  ap- 
pearance is  destined  to  create  a  profound  impression,  and  probably  a  most 
lively  discussion. 

"Many  of  the  scenes  and  incidents  are  startling,  and  if  the  book  should 
fail  to  change  certain  notions  in  regard  to  spiritualism,  it  certainly  will  con- 
found sceptical  thinkers  and  writers." — Boston  Transcript. 

IJ1S      TRIUMPH. 
By  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Denison.    Author  of  "That  Husband  of  Mine,"  "Like 

a  Gentleman,"  etc.    16mo.    Cloth.     $1.00. 

"  This  brightly  old  domestic  idyl  deals  with  actors  and  theatrical  affairs, 
in  the  midst  of  which  personages  and  scenes,  the  heroine,  a  charming  young 
wife,  acts  out  a  little  comedy  of  her  own.  This  sprightly  account  of  how  a 
modern  Eve  circumvented  a  nineteenth-century  serpent  is  sure  to  find  favor 
with  novel  readers." — The  Art  Interchange. 

Uniform  with.  Lee  and  Shepard's  Dollar  Novels. 

Like  a  Gentleman.  The  Puddleeord  Papeb. 

numa  roumestan.  the  fortunate  island. 

Kings  in  Exile.  The  Tight  Squeeze. 

FOUE     A^TSiy     AFT, 

A  Personal  Narrative  of  Sea  Experiences.     By  Robert  B.  Dixon.    16mo. 

Cloth.    320  pages.    Price,  $1.25. 

This  is  a  book  which,  like  the  famous  "  Two  Years  Before  the  Mast,*' 
interests  young  and  old  alike,  and  is  decidedly  pleasant  reading  to  a  sea- 
lover.  It  has  the  air  of  vraisemblance,  and  holds  one  with  the  fascination 
of  re.il  struggles  with  storms  and  fire  and  mutiny,  and  all  the  perils  and 
marvels  of  the  ever-changing  sea. 

Sold  by  all  Booksellers,  and  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 

LEE  AND  SHEPARD,  Publishers, 

BOSTON". 


RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 

Travel 
BF1283 
.F5 
A2 


